Shloka 36
अह्ति प्रातिवेश्याय श्राद्ध यो न ददाति च | अनर्ह भ्यश्ष यो दद्याद् वृषलीपतये तथा,जो नृशंस स्वभावका मनुष्य शरणागत, साधुपुरुष तथा आज्ञापालनमें तत्पर रहनेवाले पुरुषको त्यागकर उसका भरण-पोषण नहीं करता, जो उपकारीकी निन्दा करता है, पड़ोसमें रहनेवाले योग्य व्यक्तिको श्राद्धका दान नहीं देता और अयोग्य व्यक्तियोंको तथा शूद्राके स्वामी ब्राह्मणको देता है, जो मद्य पीनेवाला, धर्म-मर्यादाको तोड़नेवाला, कृतघ्न और स्वामीकी निन््दा करनेवाला है--इन सभी लोगोंको जो दुर्गति प्राप्त होती है, उसीको मैं भी शीघ्र ही प्राप्त करूँ; यदि कल जयद्रथका वध न कर डालूँ
arjuna uvāca | ahati prātiveśyāya śrāddhaṃ yo na dadāti ca | anarhebhyaś ca yo dadyād vṛṣalīpataye tathā | yo nṛśaṃsa-svabhāvakaḥ manuṣyaḥ śaraṇāgataṃ sādhu-puruṣaṃ tathā ājñā-pālane tatparaṃ puruṣaṃ tyaktvā tasya bharaṇa-poṣaṇaṃ na karoti | yo upakāriṇaṃ nindati | pādōse nivāsinaṃ yogyaṃ puruṣaṃ śrāddha-dānena na tarpayati | ayogyebhyaś ca dadāti | śūdrāyāḥ pataye brāhmaṇāya ca dadāti | yo madya-pāyī dharma-maryādā-bhedī kṛtaghnaḥ svāmi-nindakaś ca | eteṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ yā durgatiḥ prāpyate tām aham api śīghram avāpnu-yām | yadi śvo jayadrathasya vadhaṃ na kariṣyāmi ||
Arjuna said: “May I swiftly fall into the same wretched fate that befalls those who commit these sins—one who does not give the śrāddha-offering to a worthy neighbor; one who gives it to the unworthy, or to a brāhmaṇa who lives as the husband of a śūdra woman; one who, cruel by nature, abandons a good man who has sought refuge, or a dutiful person devoted to obedience, and refuses to maintain him; one who reviles a benefactor; one who neglects to honor a deserving person living nearby with śrāddha-gifts and instead gives to the undeserving; one who drinks liquor, breaks the bounds of dharma, is ungrateful, and slanders his master. May that very ruin come upon me as well—if I do not slay Jayadratha tomorrow.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a solemn vow through ethical negatives: neglecting śrāddha-giving to the worthy, ingratitude, slandering benefactors and masters, cruelty to those seeking refuge, and breaking dharma’s restraints are portrayed as leading to ruin. Arjuna invokes that same ruin upon himself if he fails his pledged duty—showing how vows are anchored in moral accountability.
In the Drona Parva, after the events that make Jayadratha the urgent target, Arjuna binds himself by a fierce oath: he will kill Jayadratha the next day. To underscore the seriousness, he declares that if he fails, he deserves the same dreadful fate as notorious wrongdoers described in the verse.