Shloka 65

Devanagari script

ऋते प्रायगतं राजन्‌ न्यस्तशस्त्रमचेतनम्‌ । हन्यान्मां युधि योधानां सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते,राजन! जब मैं हथियार डालकर अचेत-सा होकर आमरण अनशनके लिये बैठ जाऊँ, उस अवस्थाको छोड़कर और किसी समय कोई मुझे नहीं मार सकता। उसी अवस्थामें कोई श्रेष्ठ योद्धा युद्धमें मुझे मार सकता है; यह मैं तुमसे सच्ची बात कह रहा हूँ

Transliteration

ṛte prāyagataṃ rājan nyastaśastram acetanam | hanyān māṃ yudhi yodhānāṃ satyam etad bravīmi te ||

Translation

ರಾಜನೇ! ನಾನು ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಅಚೇತನನಂತೆ ಕುಳಿತು ಆಮರಣ ಉಪವಾಸ ವ್ರತವನ್ನು ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದ ಆ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲೂ ಯಾರೂ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸಲಾರರು. ಕೇವಲ ಆ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲೇ ಯಾವುದೋ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಯೋಧನು ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ವಧಿಸಬಲ್ಲನು—ಇದು ನಿನಗೆ ನಾನು ಸತ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇನೆ.

Word by Word

• {'ṛte': 'except, apart from', 'prāyagatam (prāyopagatam)': 'one who has undertaken prāya (fasting unto death), one resolved on death by religious fast', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'nyasta-śastram': 'having laid down weapons

• disarmed', 'acetanam': 'unconscious

• as if without awareness', 'hanyāt': 'might kill

• could slay (optative of √han)', 'mām': 'me', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'yodhānām': 'of warriors', 'satyam': 'truth', 'etat': 'this', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare', 'te': 'to you'}

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• rājan (the king addressed)
• śastra (weapons)
• prāya/prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: a warrior who has renounced fighting by laying down arms and undertaking a death-fast is no longer a proper target. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his vulnerability only in that renunciatory state, underscoring ideals of restraint, honor, and truthfulness even amid war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and states that he cannot be slain in ordinary combat; only if he abandons weapons and sits for a fast unto death—appearing unconscious or withdrawn—could a great warrior kill him. He insists he is speaking truthfully, indicating a tense moment where questions of killing, surrender, and dharma are being weighed.