Shloka 32
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
गृध्रोदरे वा वस्तव्यं पुरे वा नागसाह्वये । प्रतिज्ञातं मया तच्च सभामध्ये नराधम
sañjaya uvāca |
gṛdhrodare vā vastavyaṃ pure vā nāgasāhvaye |
pratijñātaṃ mayā tacca sabhāmadhye narādhama,
kartāha tad vacaḥ satyaṃ satyenaiva śapāmi te |
三阇耶说：“人中下贱者啊！你要么住进秃鹫的腹中（即被杀身亡），要么就去那名为那伽萨呼耶（哈斯提那补罗）的城里藏匿。凡我在大会之中所立之誓，我必定使之成真。我以真理本身向你起誓：我必践行此言。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds satya (truth) as an ethical force: a public vow made in the sabhā is treated as binding, and the speaker frames its fulfillment as a matter of honor and moral certainty, even invoking an oath ‘by truth itself’ to underscore accountability.
Sañjaya reports a harsh ultimatum directed at a condemned opponent: either be killed (figuratively ‘live in a vulture’s belly’) or flee to and hide in Nāgasāhvaya (Hastināpura). The speaker insists that a prior pledge made publicly in the assembly will be carried out without fail.