Shloka 33
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
सा त्वं मयि मृते मातस्तथा गाण्डीवधन्वनि । भव प्रीतिमती देवि सत्येनात्मानमालभे,“मातः! देवि! मेरे तथा गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके मर जानेपर तुम भलीभाँति प्रसन्न होना। मैं सत्यकी शपथ खाकर कहता हूँ कि पिताजीके बिना मेरा जीवन असम्भव है”
sā tvaṁ mayi mṛte mātas tathā gāṇḍīvadhanvani | bhava prītimatī devi satyenātmānam ālabhe |
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا— “ماں، دیوی! جب میں مر جاؤں اور گاندیو بردار ارجن بھی مر جائے تو تم مطمئن رہنا، غم نہ کرنا۔ میں سچ کی قسم کھا کر کہتا ہوں: باپ کے بغیر میرے لیے جینا ناممکن ہے۔”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical force of satya (truth) as an oath and the intensity of filial loyalty: the speaker frames life as untenable without the father, and urges the mother toward composure rather than grief, presenting steadfast duty and truthfulness as guiding values even amid death.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a speech in which the speaker addresses his mother, asking her to remain calm even if he and Arjuna (identified by the epithet ‘bearer of the Gāṇḍīva’) die, and he reinforces this plea by swearing an oath by truth that he cannot live without his father.