Shloka 8

मयस्य प्रतिकृतिः — Maya’s Offer and the Commissioning of the Sabhā

Devanagari script

न चापि तव संकल्पं मोघमिच्छामि दानव । कृष्णस्य क्रियतां किंचित्‌ तथा प्रतिकृतं मयि

Transliteration

na cāpi tava saṅkalpaṃ mogham icchāmi dānava | kṛṣṇasya kriyatāṃ kiñcit tathā pratikṛtaṃ mayi, dānava ||

Translation

ಹೇ ದಾನವನೇ! ನಿನ್ನ ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ವ್ಯರ್ಥವಾಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ನಾನೂ ಬಯಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದಾದರೂ ಸೇವೆ ಮಾಡು; ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲಿನ ನಿನ್ನ ಋಣ ತೀರಿದಂತಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'ca api': 'and also

• nor', 'tava': 'your', 'saṅkalpam': 'resolve, vow, intention', 'mogham': 'vain, fruitless, ineffective', 'icchāmi': 'I wish, I desire', 'dānava': 'O Dānava (address to a being of the Dānava lineage

• often used for an asura/daitya)', 'kṛṣṇasya': 'of Kṛṣṇa', 'kriyatām': 'let it be done

• please do (imperative/passive sense)', 'kiñcit': 'something, some small act', 'tathā': 'thus, in that manner', 'pratikṛtam': 'recompense, return, repayment

• requital of a favor', 'mayi': 'toward me

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Kṛṣṇa
• Dānava (addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A vow should not be rendered futile; ethical repayment of a debt is best fulfilled by directing one’s service toward a higher, worthy purpose—here, by serving Kṛṣṇa—so that gratitude becomes dharmic action rather than mere personal exchange.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna addresses a figure called “Dānava,” acknowledging the other’s resolve and refusing to let it become pointless. He proposes a concrete way to complete the obligation owed to him: perform some task or service for Kṛṣṇa, which Arjuna treats as an appropriate and elevating form of repayment.