Mahabharata (Gita Press) 7.13.83 - Drona Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 83

Droṇa’s sweeping assault and the Abhimanyu–Jayadratha close-quarters episode (द्रोणस्य भीषणव्यचरितम् / सौभद्र-जयद्रथ-संनिपातः)

Devanagari script

प्रतीपो नाहमाचार्ये भवेयं वै कथंचन । पाण्डुनन्दन! इस नीतिके अनुसार बर्ताव करते हुए मैं युद्धमें अपने प्राणोंका परित्याग कर दूँगा; परंतु किसी प्रकार भी आचार्यका शत्रु नहीं बनूँगा

Transliteration

pratīpo nāham ācārye bhaveyaṃ vai kathaṃcana | pāṇḍunandana! asya nīter anusarān vartamānaḥ ahaṃ yuddhe svaprāṇān parityajiṣyāmi; parantu kathaṃcid api ācāryasya śatruḥ na bhaviṣyāmi ||

Translation

アルジュナは言った。「いかなる場合であれ、私は師に敵対することは決してない。おお、パーンドゥの子よ。この正しき行いの掟に従い、戦場で命を捨てようとも、私は断じてアーチャールヤの敵とはならぬ。」

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Word by Word

• प्रतीपः: hostile, adverse (as an opponent)
• प्रतीपः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतीप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• आचार्ये: in/with regard to the teacher
• आचार्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• भवेयम्: I would be / I might become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• कथंचन: in any way, somehow (at all)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Ācārya (Droṇa)
• Pāṇḍu
• Pāṇḍunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: even amid a righteous battle, Arjuna refuses to become an enemy to his guru. It frames loyalty to one’s teacher as a moral constraint that can outweigh even self-preservation.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Droṇa Parva, as Droṇa leads the Kaurava forces, Arjuna expresses to Pāṇḍunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira) his resolve that he may die in battle, but he will not adopt an attitude of enmity toward his preceptor, indicating the tension between battlefield necessity and reverence for the guru.