Shloka 3
Arjuna Confronted by Saindhava Forces during the Aśvamedha Circuit (श्वेतवाहनस्य सैन्धवसंघर्षः)
अर्जुनार्जुन तिष्ठस्व न मे जीवन विमोक्ष्यसे । त्वां निहत्य करिष्यामि पितुस्तोयं यथाविधि,“अर्जुन! अर्जुन! खड़े रहो। आज मैं तुम्हें जीवित नहीं छोड़ूँगा। तुम्हें मारकर पिताका विधिपूर्वक तर्पण करूँगा
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | arjunārjuna tiṣṭhasva na me jīvana-vimokṣyase | tvāṃ nihatya kariṣyāmi pitur toyaṃ yathāvidhi ||
“Arjuna, Arjuna—hãy đứng vững! Ngươi sẽ không thoát khỏi tay ta mà còn sống. Sau khi giết ngươi, ta sẽ dâng nước tế lễ (tarpana) cho phụ thân ta đúng theo nghi thức.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes two powerful kṣatriya impulses: personal vengeance and ritual duty. The speaker frames killing Arjuna not merely as anger but as a means to fulfill a son’s obligation to honor a slain father through prescribed rites (tarpaṇa), showing how ethical self-justification can be constructed by linking violence to dharma.
A hostile challenger confronts Arjuna directly, ordering him to stand and declaring that Arjuna will not be spared. The challenger vows to kill Arjuna and then perform the customary water-offering to his own father, implying a motive of avenging the father’s death and completing funerary/ancestral obligations.