Shloka 50
“राजन! आपको तो यह विदित ही है कि गाण्डीवधारी सत्यप्रतिज्ञ अर्जुनने गाण्डीव धनुषके विषयमें कैसी प्रतिज्ञा कर रखी है? उनकी वह प्रतिज्ञा प्रसिद्ध है ।।
rājan! āpako to yaha vidita hī hai ki gāṇḍīvadhārī satyapratijña arjunena gāṇḍīva-dhanuṣa-viṣaye kaisī pratijñā kara rakhī hai? tasya sā pratijñā prasiddhā. brūyād ya evaṃ gāṇḍīvam anyasmai deyam iti uktvā; vadhyo ’sya sa pumān loke, tvayā ca ukto ’yam īdṛśam.
サञ्जयは語った。「大王よ、ガーンディーヴァを携え、誓いに背かぬアルジュナが、そのガーンディーヴァの弓についていかなる誓願を立てているか、あなたはよくご存じだ。その誓いは世に名高い。『ガーンディーヴァは他人に与えるべきだ』と言う者は、この世において彼に斬られるべき者となる。そしてあなたは、まさにその類の言葉を口にされたのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a warrior’s vow and the moral seriousness attributed to speech: words that challenge a sacred pledge (here, Arjuna’s bond with the Gāṇḍīva) are treated as provocations with grave consequences. It underscores honor-codes where reputation, oath-keeping, and restraint in speech are integral to dharma in a martial context.
Sanjaya reminds King Dhṛtarāṣṭra of Arjuna’s famous vow regarding the Gāṇḍīva: anyone who suggests it should be given away is deemed ‘fit to be slain.’ He then points out that the king has uttered precisely such words, implying the dangerous implications of that statement amid the tensions of the war.