Shloka 65

Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals

Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness

Devanagari script

ऋते प्रायगतं राजन्‌ न्यस्तशस्त्रमचेतनम्‌ । हन्यान्मां युधि योधानां सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते

Transliteration

ṛte prāyagataṃ rājan nyastaśastram acetanam | hanyān māṃ yudhi yodhānāṃ satyam etad bravīmi te ||

Translation

王よ、我が断食して死に至る誓いを立て、武器を捨てて、意識なき者のごとく座す時を除いては、誰も我を討つことはできぬ。まさにその状態においてのみ、第一等の勇士が戦場で我を斃し得る。これぞ真実として汝に告げる。

Word by Word

• {'ṛte': 'except, apart from', 'prāyagatam (prāyopagatam)': 'one who has undertaken prāya (fasting unto death), one resolved on death by religious fast', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'nyasta-śastram': 'having laid down weapons

• disarmed', 'acetanam': 'unconscious

• as if without awareness', 'hanyāt': 'might kill

• could slay (optative of √han)', 'mām': 'me', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'yodhānām': 'of warriors', 'satyam': 'truth', 'etat': 'this', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare', 'te': 'to you'}

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• rājan (the king addressed)
• śastra (weapons)
• prāya/prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: a warrior who has renounced fighting by laying down arms and undertaking a death-fast is no longer a proper target. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his vulnerability only in that renunciatory state, underscoring ideals of restraint, honor, and truthfulness even amid war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and states that he cannot be slain in ordinary combat; only if he abandons weapons and sits for a fast unto death—appearing unconscious or withdrawn—could a great warrior kill him. He insists he is speaking truthfully, indicating a tense moment where questions of killing, surrender, and dharma are being weighed.