Shloka 35

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता

Devanagari script

ततस्त्वाहं न हन्म्यद्य द्रोणे जीवति संयुगे,नेष्यामि प्रेतलोकाय होतन्मे मनसि स्थितम्‌ । “इसीलिये द्रोणके जीते-जी अभी युद्धस्थलमें तेरा वध नहीं कर रहा हूँ। दुर्मते! इसी रातमें प्रभात होनेसे पहले आज तेरे पिताका वध करके फिर तुझे भी युद्धस्थलमें प्रेतलोकको भेज दूँगा। यही मेरे मनका निश्चित विचार है

Transliteration

tatas tvāhaṃ na hanmy adya droṇe jīvati saṃyuge, neṣyāmi pretalokāya hotan me manasi sthitam |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Oleh itu, selagi Droṇa masih hidup dan pertempuran masih berlangsung, hari ini aku tidak akan membunuhmu. Aku bertekad menghantarmu ke alam orang mati—itulah yang teguh terpahat dalam fikiranku.”

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'therefore

• then', 'tvā (tvām)': 'you (accusative)', 'aham': 'I', 'na': 'not', 'hanmi': 'I kill

• I slay', 'adya': 'today', 'droṇe': 'when/while Droṇa (is present/alive) (locative)', 'jīvati': 'living

• being alive', 'saṃyuge': 'in battle

• in the conflict (locative)', 'neṣyāmi': 'I will lead

• I will send', 'pretalokāya': 'to the world of the departed/dead (dative)', 'me': 'my', 'manasi': 'in (my) mind (locative)', 'sthitam': 'fixed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa
• saṃyuga (battlefield)
• preta-loka (world of the dead)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how personal vows and vengeance can override immediate action even in war: the speaker restrains himself for the moment due to Droṇa’s continued presence, yet declares a fixed intention to kill later. It illustrates the tension between strategic restraint and ethically troubling resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of the battle, a warrior declares that he will not kill his opponent today as long as Droṇa remains alive in the conflict, but he is determined to send that opponent to the realm of the dead later—presenting a deliberate postponement of killing tied to Droṇa’s status.