Shloka 34

Devanagari script

भक्तश्न मे महाबाहु: प्रियो<स्याहं प्रियश्व मे । तेन विन्दामि वार्ष्णेय कश्मलं शोकतापित:,4वार्ष्णेय! वह महाबाहु मेरा भक्त था। मैं उसे प्रिय था और वह मुझे; इसीलिये उसके शोकसे संतप्त होकर मैं मोहको प्राप्त हो रहा हूँ

Transliteration

bhaktaś ca me mahābāhuḥ priyo ’syāhaṃ priyaś ca me | tena vindāmi vārṣṇeya kaśmalaṃ śokatāpitaḥ ||

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—“ಓ ವಾರ್ಷ್ಣೇಯ! ಆ ಮಹಾಬಾಹು ನನ್ನ ಭಕ್ತನಾಗಿದ್ದನು; ನಾನು ಅವನಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಿಯನಾಗಿದ್ದೆ, ಅವನು ನನಗೆ ಪ್ರಿಯನಾಗಿದ್ದನು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅವನ ಶೋಕದಿಂದ ದಹಿಸಿ ನಾನು ಮೋಹಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಗಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ.”

Word by Word

भक्तःdevoted

चand

मेof me / my

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed one

प्रियःdear

अस्यof him

अहम्I

प्रियःdear

चand

मेof me / to me

तेनtherefore / by that (reason)

विन्दामिI find / I attain

वार्ष्णेयO descendant of Vृष्णि (Krishna)

कश्मलम्delusion / distress

शोकतापितःtormented by grief

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Vārṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa)

mahābāhuḥ (a mighty-armed person, unnamed in this verse)

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 highlights how deep personal bonds—devotion and mutual affection—can intensify grief and lead even a normally steady person into kaśmala (bewildered, ethically clouded distress). It implicitly contrasts emotional attachment with the need for clarity and steadiness amid dharmic crisis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, overwhelmed by sorrow for a beloved, devoted hero (referred to only as “the mighty-armed one”), addresses Kṛṣṇa as Vārṣṇeya and admits that grief has driven him into confusion. The line functions as a lament within the war narrative, showing the psychological toll of battlefield losses.