Shloka 563
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
इति यस्य महाघोरं व्रतमासीन्महात्मन: । उसके नष्ट होनेमें और कोई कारण मुझे नहीं दिखायी देता है
iti yasya mahāghoraṁ vratam āsīn mahātmanaḥ |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「これこそが、あの大いなる魂をもつ英雄の、きわめて恐るべき誓願であった。彼の破滅の原因として、これ以外を私は見いだせない。すなわち彼は恐ろしい決意によって自らを縛ったのだ――『アルジュナを討ち果たすまでは、他の誰にも我が足を洗わせぬ』と。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A rigid, ego-driven vow (vrata) can become self-destructive when it overrides prudence and dharma. The passage frames the hero’s downfall as arising chiefly from an extreme resolve, illustrating how obsession with a single aim—especially in war—can narrow judgment and invite ruin.
Vaiśampāyana comments on a warrior’s fate, pointing to his ‘mahāghora’ vow as the decisive cause. The vow is described as: until he kills Arjuna, he will not allow others to wash his feet—an emblem of uncompromising determination that the narrator treats as a key factor in his destruction.