Mahabharata 7.74.36 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 74, Shloka 36

अर्जुनस्य सैन्धवाभिमुखगमनम् तथा विन्दानुविन्दयोर्वधः

Arjuna’s advance toward Saindhava and the fall of Vinda–Anuvinda

Devanagari script

अह्ति प्रातिवेश्याय श्राद्ध यो न ददाति च | अनर्ह भ्यश्ष यो दद्याद्‌ वृषलीपतये तथा

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | ahati prātiveśyāya śrāddhaṃ yo na dadāti ca | anarhebhyaś ca yo dadyād vṛṣalīpataye tathā | yo nṛśaṃsa-svabhāvakaḥ manuṣyaḥ śaraṇāgataṃ sādhu-puruṣaṃ tathā ājñā-pālane tatparaṃ puruṣaṃ tyaktvā tasya bharaṇa-poṣaṇaṃ na karoti | yo upakāriṇaṃ nindati | pādōse nivāsinaṃ yogyaṃ puruṣaṃ śrāddha-dānena na tarpayati | ayogyebhyaś ca dadāti | śūdrāyāḥ pataye brāhmaṇāya ca dadāti | yo madya-pāyī dharma-maryādā-bhedī kṛtaghnaḥ svāmi-nindakaś ca | eteṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ yā durgatiḥ prāpyate tām aham api śīghram avāpnu-yām | yadi śvo jayadrathasya vadhaṃ na kariṣyāmi ||

Translation

アルジュナは言った。「これらの罪を犯す者どもに待つ惨い末路が、我にも速やかに及ぶがよい――ふさわしい隣人にシュラーダ（śrāddha）の供養を与えぬ者、ふさわしからぬ者に与える者、あるいはシュードラ女の夫として生きるバラモンに与える者。生来残忍にして、庇護を求めた善人や、服従の務めに励む者を見捨て、養うことを拒む者。恩人を罵る者。近くに住む相応の人をシュラーダの贈り物で敬わず、かえって不相応の者に施す者。酒に溺れ、ダルマの境を破り、恩を忘れ、主君を誹る者。もし明日までに我がジャヤドラタを討たぬなら、その滅びこそ我が身に降りかかれ。」

Word by Word

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha offering
• श्राद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्रातिवेश्याय: to a neighbor
• प्रातिवेश्याय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रातिवेश्य
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• ददाति: gives
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अनर्हेभ्यः: to the unworthy
• अनर्हेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनर्ह
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दद्यात्: should give / gives (as a habitual fault)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वृषलीपतये: to the husband of a śūdra-woman
• वृषलीपतये: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषलीपति
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तथा: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Jayadratha
• brāhmaṇa
• śūdra woman (śūdrā)
• neighbor (prātiveśya)
• benefactor (upakārin)
• refuge-seeker (śaraṇāgata)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a solemn vow through ethical negatives: neglecting śrāddha-giving to the worthy, ingratitude, slandering benefactors and masters, cruelty to those seeking refuge, and breaking dharma’s restraints are portrayed as leading to ruin. Arjuna invokes that same ruin upon himself if he fails his pledged duty—showing how vows are anchored in moral accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Drona Parva, after the events that make Jayadratha the urgent target, Arjuna binds himself by a fierce oath: he will kill Jayadratha the next day. To underscore the seriousness, he declares that if he fails, he deserves the same dreadful fate as notorious wrongdoers described in the verse.