Shloka 49

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

मा त्वं ब्रह्मग॒तिं हिंस्या: प्रायश्षित्तं कृतं त्वया । मद्वाक्यं नानृतं लोके कश्ित्‌ कुर्यात्‌ समाप्लुहि

Transliteration

mā tvaṃ brahmagatiṃ hiṃsyāḥ prāyaścittaṃ kṛtaṃ tvayā | madvākyaṃ nānṛtaṃ loke kaścit kuryāt samāpluhi ||

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—मा त्वं ब्राह्मणस्योत्तमां गतिं हिंसीः लोभप्रदानेन। कृतं त्वया तस्य कर्मणः प्रायश्चित्तं तपोदानैः। मद्वाक्यं लोके कश्चिद् नानृतं कर्तुमर्हति; तस्मात् शापो मम तेऽवश्यं समापतिष्यति॥

Word by Word

• {'mā': 'do not (prohibitive particle)', 'tvam': 'you', 'brahma-gatim': 'the brāhmaṇa’s supreme course/destiny

• the highest spiritual state', 'hiṃsyāḥ (hiṃsīḥ)': 'you should harm/destroy', 'prāyaścittam': 'expiation, atonement', 'kṛtam': 'done, performed', 'tvayā': 'by you', 'mad-vākyam': 'my statement/word', 'na anṛtam': 'not false, not untrue', 'loke': 'in the world', 'kaścit': 'anyone, someone', 'kuryāt': 'could make/do', 'samāpluhi': 'therefore/accordingly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• brāhmaṇa (as a class/ethical subject)
• śāpa (curse, as an object/force)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses that ethical harm—especially corrupting or damaging a brāhmaṇa’s spiritual standing through greed—has grave consequences; even when expiation has been performed, the moral force of a spoken truth/curse is presented as inescapable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a warning: the addressee is told not to destroy a brāhmaṇa’s ‘highest destiny’ by tempting with greed; although atonement has been done through repentance and gifts, Sañjaya asserts that his utterance cannot be made false, so the curse will inevitably take effect.