Shloka 20
मृषा कृत्वा व्रतं तस्य पापस्य मधुसूदन । पातयिष्ये रथात् कायं शरै: संनतपर्वभि:
mṛṣā kṛtvā vrataṁ tasya pāpasya madhusūdana | pātayiṣye rathāt kāyaṁ śaraiḥ saṁnataparvabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Madhusūdana, ta sẽ khiến lời thệ của kẻ tội lỗi ấy thành hư vọng. Bằng những mũi tên có khớp cong, ta sẽ đánh gục thân hắn và quăng hắn khỏi chiến xa.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rigid vows taken in anger or for wrongful ends can be overturned by righteous opposition; it also reflects the battlefield ethic that a ‘vow’ does not sanctify an unjust intent, and that consequences follow adharma.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s resolve addressed to Kṛṣṇa (Madhusūdana): he intends to invalidate an enemy’s vow by using specially described arrows to strike him down and topple him from his chariot.