Shloka 17
अनर्थकमिदं सर्व यत् त्वया व्यादह्वतं प्रभो । जानन्नेव हषीकेशं गर्हसे मां च पाण्डवम्,अर्जुन बोले--प्रभो! यह स्पष्ट है कि मनुष्यके बूढ़े होनेके साथ-साथ उसकी बुद्धि भी बूढ़ी हो जाती है। तुमने इस समय जो कुछ कहा है, वह सब व्यर्थ है। तुम सम्पूर्ण इन्द्रियोंके नियन्ता भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको और मुझ पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको भी जानते हो, तो भी हमारी निन््दा करते हो
anarthakam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat tvayā vyāhṛtaṁ prabho | jānann eva hṛṣīkeśaṁ garhase māṁ ca pāṇḍavam ||
Arjuna said: “Lord, all that you have just uttered is pointless. Even though you know Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa), the master of the senses, and you know me, Arjuna the son of Pāṇḍu, you still censure us.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech in a dharmic crisis must be purposeful and responsible; Arjuna rejects blame that ignores known character and context, insisting that censure without just grounds is ethically empty.
In the midst of the Drona Parva conflict, Arjuna responds sharply to a reproachful statement, declaring it futile and pointing out that the speaker, despite knowing Kṛṣṇa (Hṛṣīkeśa) and Arjuna’s identity, still chooses to condemn them.