उत्तमां तु मनोबुद्धिं भवतां भावितात्मनाम् ॥
जानन्न् अपि च वः पार्थ कृतवान् इह धर्षणाम् ॥
स्त्रीसकाशे च कौरव्य न पुमान् क्षन्तुम् अर्हति ॥
धर्षणाम् आत्मनः पश्यन् बाहुद्रविणम् आश्रितः ॥
नक्तं च बलम् अस्माकं भूय एवाभिवर्धते ॥
यतस् ततो मां कौन्तेय सदारं मन्युर् आविशत् ॥
uttamāṃ tu manobuddhiṃ bhavatāṃ bhāvitātmanām ||
jānann api ca vaḥ pārtha kṛtavān iha dharṣaṇām ||
strīsakāśe ca kauravya na pumān kṣantum arhati ||
dharṣaṇām ātmanaḥ paśyan bāhudraviṇam āśritaḥ ||
naktaṃ ca balam asmākaṃ bhūya evābhivardhate ||
yatas tato māṃ kaunteya sadāraṃ manyur āviśat ||
"Though knowing your excellent mind and intellect, perfected in soul, and knowing you, O Partha, I still committed this attack against you. Before his wife, O Kaurava, a man who relies on the might of his arms must not endure an attack upon himself; and our strength grows still greater at night -- therefore, O Kaunteya, anger seized me, being there with my wife."
ee1f1b042d09 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:19:51 PM UTC
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Here the gandharva honestly discloses the motive for his attack. His candor is telling: he does not excuse himself by ignorance, but admits that he attacked, driven by pride before his wife and by his nighttime strength. Here it is seen that there is dignity even in confessing fault: the honest man names the true cause of his own wrongdoing. Yet it is telling that his motive is self-regard, not dharma: anger "before one's wife" is a concern for honor, not for what is right. Thus the scripture shows the truthfulness of the vanquished, and at the same time the fragility of a self-regarding impulse that ended in defeat.