Shloka 12

कृष्ण-दूतविषये दुर्योधनस्य बन्धन-प्रस्तावः — Duryodhana’s Proposal to Detain Krishna

Envoy-Ethics Debate

Devanagari script

वेद कृष्णस्य माहात्म्यं वेदास्य दृढभक्तिताम्‌ । अत्याज्यमस्य जानामि प्राणैस्तुल्यं धनंजयम्‌

Transliteration

veda kṛṣṇasya māhātmyaṃ vedāsya dṛḍha-bhaktitām | atyājyam asya jānāmi prāṇais tulyam dhanaṃjayam ||

Translation

എനിക്ക് ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യം അറിയാം; അദ്ദേഹത്തോടുള്ള അർജുനന്റെ ദൃഢഭക്തിയും അറിയാം. അതിനാൽ ഞാൻ ഉറപ്പായി അറിയുന്നു—പ്രാണസമം പ്രിയനായ ധനഞ്ജയൻ (അർജുനൻ)നെ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ ഒരിക്കലും ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• {'veda (veda)': 'I know

• I understand', 'kṛṣṇasya': 'of Kṛṣṇa', 'māhātmyaṃ': 'greatness, exalted nature, divine majesty', 'vedāsi/vedāsya': 'I know this/that of him (contextual: I know of him)', 'dṛḍha-bhaktitām': 'firm devotion, unwavering devotion', 'atyājyam': 'not to be abandoned

• impossible to forsake', 'asya': 'by him / of him (here: of Kṛṣṇa)', 'jānāmi': 'I know

• I ascertain', 'prāṇaiḥ tulyam': 'equal to (his) life-breaths

• as dear as life', 'dhanaṃjayam': 'Dhanañjaya, epithet of Arjuna'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Kṛṣṇa
• Arjuna (Dhanañjaya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True dharmic alliance rests on steadfast devotion and reciprocal loyalty: where devotion is firm and the guide is righteous and great, abandonment is unthinkable; ethical counsel emphasizes reliability in friendship and commitment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and counsel, Vidura speaks to underscore Kṛṣṇa’s greatness and his inseparable bond with Arjuna, implying that plans ignoring Kṛṣṇa’s support of the Pāṇḍavas are strategically and morally misguided.