Shloka 14
शपे सत्येन कौरव्य इष्टापूर्तेन चैव ह,“कुरुनन्दन! मैं अपने सत्य, इष्ट (यज्ञ-यागादि) और आपूर्त (वापी-तड़ागनिर्माण आदि) कर्मोकी शपथ खाकर कहता हूँ कि समस्त पांचालोंका वध किये बिना किसी तरह जीवित नहीं रह सकूँगा। सभी उपायोंसे पांचालोंको मार डालनेका प्रयत्न करूँगा
śape satyena kauravya iṣṭāpūrtena caiva ha | kurunandana! ahaṃ satyena me iṣṭena cāpūrtena ca śapathena bravīmi—samastapañcālān avadhya kathaṃcid api jīvituṃ na śakṣyāmi | sarvopāyaiḥ pañcālān nihantuṃ yatnaṃ kariṣyāmi ||
ಓ ಕೌರವ್ಯ! ನನ್ನ ಸತ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೂ, ಇಷ್ಟ-ಆಪೂರ್ತವೆಂಬ ಯಜ್ಞಯಾಗಾದಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಲೋಕಹಿತ ಪುಣ್ಯಕರ್ಮಗಳ ಮೇಲೂ ಶಪಥ ಮಾಡಿ ನಾನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇನೆ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vows and appeals to religious merit (iṣṭa–pūrta) can be invoked to legitimize extreme resolve in war, raising an ethical tension: personal truthfulness and ritual merit are claimed as authority even when the intended act is mass killing.
A warrior (as reported by Sañjaya) makes a solemn oath to the Kaurava side, declaring that he cannot live unless he kills all the Pāñcālas and that he will attempt their destruction by every possible means.