Shloka 456
अर्जुनस्य सैन्धवाभिमुखगमनम् तथा विन्दानुविन्दयोर्वधः
Arjuna’s advance toward Saindhava and the fall of Vinda–Anuvinda
यदि व्युष्टामिमां रात्रि श्वो न हन्यां जयद्रथम् । ऊपर जिन पापियोंका नाम मैंने गिनाया है तथा जिन दूसरे पापियोंका नाम नहीं गिनाया है, उनको जो दुर्गति प्राप्त होती है, उसीको शीघ्र ही मैं भी प्राप्त करूँ; यदि यह रात बीतनेपर कल जयद्रथको न मार डालूँ
arjuna uvāca | yadi vyuṣṭām imāṁ rātriṁ śvo na hanyāṁ jayadratham |
Arjuna said: “If, when this night has passed, I do not slay Jayadratha tomorrow, then may I swiftly meet the same dreadful fate that befalls those sinners whose names I have already enumerated—and those other sinners whose names I have not even named.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding force of a warrior’s vow and the ethical weight of accountability: Arjuna stakes his own spiritual and moral fate on fulfilling a pledged act of justice in war, showing that intention and commitment carry consequences.
After Abhimanyu’s death and Jayadratha’s role in trapping him, Arjuna makes a public, time-bound vow: if he cannot kill Jayadratha by the next day, he accepts a sinner’s doom for himself—intensifying urgency and raising the stakes of the battle.