Shloka 34

Devanagari script

अधुर्यवच्च वोढव्ये मन्‍्ये मरणमेव तत्‌ | तू रूप, यौवन, विद्या और कुलीनतासे सम्पन्न है, यशस्वी तथा लोकमें विख्यात है। तुझ-जैसा वीर पुरुष यदि पराक्रमके अवसरपर डर जाय, भार ढोनेके समय बिना नथे हुए बैलके समान बैठ रहे या भाग जाय तो मैं इसे तेरा मरण ही समझती हूँ ।। ३३ ह ।। यदि त्वामनुपश्यामि परस्य प्रियवादिनम्‌

Transliteration

adhuryavac ca voḍhavye manye maraṇam eva tat | yadi tvām anupaśyāmi parasya priyavādinam |

Translation

Gánh chịu những lời nhục nhã như thế, ta cho rằng chẳng khác nào cái chết. Nếu ta thấy người nói lời ngọt ngào với kẻ thù để cầu ân huệ, thay vì đứng vững trong dũng khí, thì đối với ta đó chính là cái chết của danh dự người.

Word by Word

• {'adhurya-vac': 'dishonorable / disgraceful speech

• words that bring shame', 'ca': 'and', 'voḍhavye': 'to be borne, to be endured (gerundive

• ‘fit/necessary to carry/endure’)', 'manye': 'I think, I consider', 'maraṇam': 'death', 'eva': 'indeed, only, just', 'tat': 'that', 'yadi': 'if', 'tvām': 'you (accusative singular)', 'anupaśyāmi': 'I see, I behold', 'parasya': 'of another

• of the enemy/opponent', 'priya-vādinam': 'one who speaks pleasing/flattering words

Speaker

पुत्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• putra (speaker designation: ‘the son’)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse equates enduring dishonor—especially cowardly appeasement of an opponent—with a kind of death. It upholds the ethic that for a warrior, loss of courage and integrity at the decisive moment destroys one’s true life: honor and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

A close relation (marked here as ‘the son’ in the speaker tag) rebukes and warns the addressed hero: do not tolerate shameful conduct, and do not try to win over the enemy with flattering speech. The speaker presses the addressee toward steadfastness and valor in the looming conflict.