Shloka 19

गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel

Devanagari script

जलाशगयं प्रविष्टोडद्य वाउ्छड्जीवितमात्मन: । उत्तिष्ठ राजन्‌ युध्यस्व सहास्माभि: सुयोधन

Transliteration

jalāśayaṃ praviṣṭo ’dya vāñchad jīvitam ātmanaḥ | uttiṣṭha rājan yudhyasva sahāsmābhiḥ suyodhana ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“今日你为保全自身性命而潜入湖中。在你使所有刹帝利与自己的宗族同归于尽之后，为何还要在水中做此举动？起来吧，苏由陀那王，与我们并肩一战！”

Word by Word

• {'jalāśayam': 'a lake, reservoir, body of water', 'praviṣṭaḥ': 'entered, gone into', 'adya': 'today, now', 'vāñchan': 'desiring, wishing for', 'jīvitam': 'life, survival', 'ātmanaḥ': 'of oneself, one’s own', 'uttiṣṭha': 'rise up, stand up (imperative)', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'yudhyasva': 'fight! engage in battle (imperative, middle voice)', 'saha': 'together with', 'asmābhiḥ': 'with us', 'suyodhana': 'Suyodhana (Duryodhana), epithet meaning ‘one who fights well’'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• jalāśaya (lake)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a moral challenge to a kṣatriya: after causing vast destruction, seeking personal survival by hiding is portrayed as dishonorable; one must face the consequences and uphold the warrior’s duty to stand and fight.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the catastrophic losses of the war, Duryodhana (Suyodhana) has taken refuge in a lake to save himself. Sanjaya addresses him, questioning his retreat and urging him to rise and rejoin battle with his remaining supporters.