Shloka 67
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
पूर्वाह्न मां कृतजप्यं कदाचिद् विप्र: प्रोवाचोदकान्ते मनोज्ञम् । कर्तव्य॑ ते दुष्करं कर्म पार्थ योद्धव्यं ते शत्रुभि: सव्यसाचिन्
sañjaya uvāca | pūrvāhṇe māṃ kṛtajapyaṃ kadācid vipraḥ provācodakānte manojñam | kartavyaṃ te duṣkaraṃ karma pārtha yoddhavyaṃ te śatrubhiḥ savyasācin ||
सञ्जय उवाच—पूर्वाह्णेऽहं कृतजप्यः कदाचिद् उदकान्ते निषण्णोऽभवम्। तत्रैकान्ते विप्र आगत्य मनोज्ञं वचनं मामुवाच—“पार्थ, ते दुष्करं कर्म कर्तव्यम्; सव्यसाचिन्, शत्रुभिर्युद्धं ते कर्तव्यम्।”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as obligation: when a righteous duty becomes difficult—especially for a kṣatriya—one must not evade it out of fear or attachment; the hard action of fighting is presented as a compelled responsibility rather than a personal vendetta.
Sanjaya recounts a past moment after his morning rites when a brahmin privately addressed him with a message directed to Arjuna: that Arjuna must undertake a difficult task and fight his enemies, setting the tone for impending conflict and the counsel surrounding it.