Shloka 52
वसुदेव–अर्जुन संवादः
Vasudeva–Arjuna Dialogue in the Aftermath of Dvārakā
निवर्तध्वमधर्मज्ञा यदि जीवितुमिच्छथ । इदानीं शरनिर्भिन्ना: शोचध्वं निहता मया,“धर्मको न जाननेवाले पापियो! यदि जीवित रहना चाहते हो तो लौट जाओ; नहीं तो मेरे द्वारा मारे जाकर या मेरे बाणोंसे विदीर्ण होकर इस समय तुम बड़े शोकमें पड़ जाओगे”
nivartadhvam adharmājñā yadi jīvitum icchatha | idānīṃ śaranirbhinnāḥ śocadhvaṃ nihatā mayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Turn back, you who are ignorant of dharma, if you wish to live. Otherwise, struck down by me—pierced through by arrows—this very moment you will fall into grief.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames survival as contingent on turning away from adharma: those who persist in unrighteous aggression invite immediate, self-caused ruin. It presents dharma not as abstract theory but as a practical boundary—crossing it brings swift consequences.
A speaker issues a direct battlefield-style warning to opponents characterized as ignorant of dharma: retreat if you want to live; otherwise they will be shot down and pierced by arrows, leading to death and grief.