Shloka 10

जयद्रथवध-प्रतिज्ञा

Arjuna’s Vow to Neutralize Jayadratha

Devanagari script

अहमेव सुभद्राया: केशवार्जुनयोरपि । प्रियकामो जयाकाडुक्षी कृतवानिदमप्रियम्‌,“मैंने ही अपने प्रिय कार्यकी इच्छा, विजयकी अभिलाषा रखकर सुभद्रा, श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका यह अप्रिय कार्य किया है

Transliteration

aham eva subhadrāyāḥ keśavārjunayor api | priyakāmo jayākāṅkṣī kṛtavān idam apriyam ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “It was I alone who, driven by the desire to accomplish what I considered dear and by the longing for victory, brought about this unwelcome act against Subhadrā—and even against Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) and Arjuna.”

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: common, nominative, singular

• एव: indeed/alone
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• सुभद्रायाः: of Subhadrā
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुभद्रा
• Form: feminine, genitive, singular

• केशव: of Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• अर्जुनयोः: of (the two) Arjuna(s) / of Arjuna (dual form used in coordination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• प्रियकामः: desiring what is dear (seeking a desired end)
• प्रियकामः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रियकाम
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• जयाकाङ्क्षी: desiring victory
• जयाकाङ्क्षी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जयाकाङ्क्षिन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• कृतवान्: has done/did
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: perfect (periphrastic), third, singular, masculine

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• अप्रियम्: unpleasant/disagreeable
• अप्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्रिय
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Subhadrā
• Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• Arjuna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds moral accountability: the speaker does not shift blame to fate or others, but admits that personal desire (priyakāma) and ambition for victory (jayākāṅkṣā) can lead one to commit actions that harm even those one reveres—an ethical warning about unchecked ends-justify-means thinking.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya speaks in the first person, acknowledging that he himself caused an act that proved displeasing to Subhadrā and also to Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) and Arjuna, and he identifies his motives as the wish to secure a favored outcome and the craving for victory.