छन््दतो मृत्युरित्येवं तस्य चास्तु वरस्तथा । धारयिष्ये ततः प्राणानुत्सगें नियते सति
chandato mṛtyur ity evaṃ tasya cāstu varas tathā | dhārayiṣye tataḥ prāṇān utsarge niyate sati ||
Санджая сказал: «Так решив: “пусть смерть придёт лишь в избранный мною час”, — да пребудет и исполнится этот дар. Потому я буду удерживать дыхания жизни, пока не наступит назначенный миг оставить их».
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights self-mastery and fidelity to a vow/boon: life is sustained not by impulse but by disciplined resolve, and death is approached as a consciously accepted, ethically timed act rather than a mere accident.
In the war narrative, the speaker reports a resolve to postpone death until the predetermined moment, so that an earlier boon—granting death only by one’s own choice—remains effective and fulfilled.