Shloka 72
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
जानासि दाशार्ह मम व्रतं त्वं यो मां ब्रूयात् कश्नन मानुषेषु । अन्यस्मै त्वं गाण्डिवं देहि पार्थ त्वत्तोउस्त्रैर्वा वीर्यतो वा विशिष्ट:
jānāsi dāśārha mama vrataṁ tvaṁ yo māṁ brūyāt kaścana mānuṣeṣu | anyasmai tvaṁ gāṇḍīvaṁ dehi pārtha tvatto 'strair vā vīryato vā viśiṣṭaḥ ||
Arjuna berkata: “Wahai Dāśārha, tuanku mengetahui nazarku. Jika ada mana-mana manusia berkata kepadaku, ‘Pārtha, serahkan busur Gāṇḍīva-mu kepada orang lain—seseorang yang lebih unggul daripadamu sama ada dalam penguasaan senjata atau dalam kekuatan,’ maka, wahai Keśava, akan aku bunuh orang itu dengan paksa. Namun Raja Yudhiṣṭhira, di hadapan tuanku sendiri, telah berulang kali berkata kepadaku, ‘Serahkan busurmu kepada orang lain.’”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical danger of rigid vows tied to personal honor: when a vow mandates violence in response to words, it can collide with dharma and family duty. It implicitly urges discernment and restraint—especially in war—so that honor does not override righteousness.
Arjuna reminds Kṛṣṇa of a personal vow: if anyone tells him to give his bow Gāṇḍīva to someone superior, he would kill that speaker. He then complains that Yudhiṣṭhira has repeatedly said exactly this in Kṛṣṇa’s presence, creating a moral and emotional crisis for Arjuna.