Shloka 4
अर्जुनस्य रथाश्वमोचनं कृष्णस्याश्वसेवा च
Arjuna’s Horses Freed; Krishna’s Equine Service
अभिमन्यो: पितुर्भीत: सब्रीडो वाक्यमब्रवीत् | योडसौ पाण्डो: किल क्षेत्रे जात: शक्रेण कामिना,जयद्रथ अभिमन्युके पितासे बहुत डर गया था, इसलिये लज्जित होकर बोला --'राजाओ! कामी इन्द्रने पाण्डुकी पत्नीके गर्भसे जिसको जन्म दिया है, वह दुर्बृद्धि अर्जुन केवल मुझको ही यमलोक भेजना चाहता है; यह बात सुननेमें आयी है। अतः आपलोगोंका कल्याण हो। अब मैं अपने प्राण बचानेकी इच्छासे अपनी राजधानीको चला जाऊँगा
sañjaya uvāca |
abhimanyor bhītāḥ pituḥ sabrīḍo vākyam abravīt |
yo 'sau pāṇḍoḥ kila kṣetre jātaḥ śakreṇa kāminā ||
Sañjaya said: Overcome with fear of Abhimanyu’s father (Arjuna) and speaking with shame, he said: “That one who, they say, was born in Pāṇḍu’s lineage—begotten by lustful Indra—(is coming against me).” The utterance reveals a mind shaken by impending retribution: fear eclipses honor, and the speaker tries to diminish Arjuna’s stature by recalling his divine paternity in a disparaging way.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and shame can distort speech: instead of owning responsibility, a frightened person may resort to disparaging another’s origins or status. Ethically, it warns against slander and evasive rhetoric when facing the consequences of one’s actions.
Sañjaya reports a speaker who, terrified of Abhimanyu’s father (Arjuna) and feeling disgraced, speaks about Arjuna by referencing his birth through Indra (Śakra), using the epithet ‘kāmin’ as a contemptuous jab—signaling panic and an attempt to belittle the approaching avenger.