Shloka 12

तत्‌ कथं नु महाबाहुर्वासवि: परवीरहा । प्रतिज्ञां सफलां कुर्यादेति ते समचिन्तयन्‌,सब लोग इसी चिन्तामें पड़े थे कि पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त हुए गाण्डीवधारी महामना अर्जुनने सहसा सिंधुराज जयद्रथके वधकी प्रतिज्ञा कर ली है। शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले वे महाबाहु इन्द्रकुमार अपनी उस प्रतिज्ञाको कैसे सफल करेंगे?

tad kathaṁ nu mahābāhur vāsaviḥ paravīrahā | pratijñāṁ saphalāṁ kuryād iti te samacintayan |

तत् कथं नु महाबाहुर्वासविः परवीरहा। प्रतिज्ञां सफलां कुर्यादिति ते समचिन्तयन्॥

तत्that (matter/that thing)
तत्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
Formneuter, nominative/accusative, singular
कथम्how
कथम्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकथम्
नुindeed/then (emphatic particle)
नु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootनु
महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)
महाबाहुः:
Karta
TypeNoun/Adjective
Rootमहाबाहु
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
वासविःson/descendant of Vasava (Indra), i.e., Arjuna
वासविः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवासवि
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
परवीरहाslayer of enemy-heroes
परवीरहा:
Karta
TypeNoun/Adjective
Rootपरवीरहन्
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
प्रतिज्ञाम्vow, promise
प्रतिज्ञाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootप्रतिज्ञा
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
सफलाम्successful, fulfilled
सफलाम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootसफल
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
कुर्यात्might make / could accomplish
कुर्यात्:
TypeVerb
Rootकृ
Formvidhi-linga (optative), present-system, 3rd, singular, parasmaipada
इतिthus (quotative)
इति:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइति
तेthey
ते:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
Formmasculine, nominative, plural
समचिन्तयन्thinking over, considering
समचिन्तयन्:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootसम् + चिन्त्
Formpresent active participle, masculine, nominative, plural, parasmaipada

संजय उवाच

S
Sanjaya
A
Arjuna
I
Indra (Vāsava)
G
Gāṇḍīva
J
Jayadratha
S
Sindhu (kingdom/region)

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights the ethical weight of a warrior’s vow (pratijñā): once publicly undertaken—especially under intense grief—it becomes a matter of honor and dharma to fulfill it, even when success appears uncertain.

After Arjuna, grieving for his son, vows to kill Jayadratha, those present anxiously deliberate how the mighty Arjuna (son of Indra, wielder of the Gāṇḍīva) can possibly accomplish this vow amid the dangers and defenses of the battlefield.