Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणं वृद्धमाचार्य न्यस्तशस्त्रं महामुनिम्‌ । घातयित्वाद्य राज्यार्थे मृतं श्रेयो न जीवितम्‌,एक तो वे ब्राह्मण, दूसरे वृद्ध और तीसरे अपने आचार्य थे। इसके सिवा उन्होंने हथियार नीचे डाल दिया था और महान मुनिवृत्तिका आश्रय लेकर बैठे हुए थे। इस अवस्थामें राज्यके लिये उनकी हत्या कराकर मैं जीनेकी अपेक्षा मर जाना ही अच्छा समझता हूँ

Transliteration

brāhmaṇaṃ vṛddham ācārya nyastaśastraṃ mahāmunim | ghātayitvā'dya rājyārthe mṛtaṃ śreyo na jīvitam ||

Translation

アルジュナは言った。「あの方はバラモンであり、老いた人であり、しかも我ら自身の師である——武器を捨て、大聖仙のごとく在る。その方を王国のために今日殺させるくらいなら、私には生よりも死のほうがましだ。」

Word by Word

ब्राह्मणम्a Brahmin

वृद्धम्aged, old

आचार्यO teacher (address)

न्यस्तlaid down, set aside

शस्त्रम्weapon

महामुनिम्the great sage

घातयित्वाhaving caused (him) to be slain

अद्यtoday, now

राज्यfor the kingdom

अर्थेfor the sake/purpose (in the matter) of

मृतम्death (to die)

श्रेयःbetter, preferable

नnot (than)

जीवितम्life, living

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna (speaker)

Ācārya (the teacher—contextually Droṇa)

Brāhmaṇa

Weapons (śastra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical limit in warfare: even for political victory, killing a revered teacher—especially one who is a brāhmaṇa, elderly, and disarmed—is portrayed as morally ruinous. Arjuna frames death as preferable to living with the burden of such adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Drona Parva context, Arjuna reflects on the prospect of having his own preceptor killed for the sake of gaining the kingdom. He emphasizes the teacher’s protected status (brāhmaṇa, aged, disarmed, sage-like) and expresses revulsion at the idea, declaring he would rather die than live after enabling such a killing.