Shloka 283

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

हन्यामहं तादृशानां शतानि क्षमाम्यहं क्षमया कालयोगात्‌ | “जो अप्रिय

Transliteration

hanyām ahaṃ tādṛśānāṃ śatāni kṣamāmy ahaṃ kṣamayā kālayogāt |

Translation

三阇耶说道：“那等人，我本可斩杀数百；然而凭借忍耐之戒，并因‘时势之合’（kāla-yoga）所使然，我尽皆忍受。粗暴、卑狭而不知宽恕之人辱骂忍者时，忍者虽有反击之力，却选择克制，因为他洞见有更大的秩序在统摄诸事。”

Word by Word

• हन्याम्: I would kill / might kill
• हन्याम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, परस्मैपद, उत्तम, एकवचन

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तादृशानाम्: of such (people)
• तादृशानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तादृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• क्षमामि: I endure / I forgive
• क्षमामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, उत्तम, एकवचन

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• क्षमया: by forbearance / through forgiveness
• क्षमया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, तृतीया, एकवचन

• कालयोगात्: due to the conjunction of time / by force of circumstance
• कालयोगात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालयोग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts capability with restraint: even if one has the strength to punish cruelty and ingratitude, true ethical strength is to endure and forgive when guided by kṣamā (forbearance) and an awareness of kāla-yoga—the larger timing and order of events.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events and sentiments from the battlefield context, voices a reflection on how patient people are often criticized by harsh and unforgiving persons; he notes that he could retaliate violently, yet he chooses to bear it, attributing this restraint to forbearance and the compulsion of time and circumstance.