प्रपतेद् द्यौः सनक्षत्रा पृथिवी शकलीभवेत् ॥
न त्वां द्रोणो निगृह्णीयाज् जीवमाने मयि ध्रुवम् ॥
यदि तस्य रणे साह्यं कुरुते वज्रभृत् स्वयम् ॥
देवैर् वा सहितो दैत्यैर् न त्वां प्राप्स्यत्य् असौ मृधे ॥
मयि जीवति राजेन्द्र न भयं कर्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
द्रोणाद् अस्त्रभृतां श्रेष्ठात् सर्वशस्त्रभृताम् अपि ॥
न स्मराम्य् अनृतां वाचं न स्मरामि पराजयम् ॥
न स्मरामि प्रतिश्रुत्य किं चिद् अप्य् अनपाकृतम् ॥
prapated dyauḥ sanakṣatrā pṛthivī śakalībhavet ||
na tvāṃ droṇo nigṛhṇīyāj jīvamāne mayi dhruvam ||
yadi tasya raṇe sāhyaṃ kurute vajrabhṛt svayam ||
devair vā sahito daityair na tvāṃ prāpsyaty asau mṛdhe ||
mayi jīvati rājendra na bhayaṃ kartum arhasi ||
droṇād astrabhṛtāṃ śreṣṭhāt sarvaśastrabhṛtām api ||
na smarāmy anṛtāṃ vācaṃ na smarāmi parājayam ||
na smarāmi pratiśrutya kiṃ cid apy anapākṛtam ||
[Arjuna:] Let heaven with [all] its stars come crashing down, let the earth shatter to fragments — Drona shall not capture you, as long as I live, surely. Even if the thunder-holder [Indra] himself should render him aid in battle, or he be joined with the gods and the Daityas, he will still not reach you in the clash, as long as I am alive, O lord of kings. You need not harbor any fear before Drona, the foremost among all who bear arms. I do not recall a single false word of mine; I do not recall a single defeat; I do not recall that, having given my word, I ever left anything unfulfilled.
5a41a8c8793d · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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Arjuna's vow is sealed by the unthinkable: sooner will heaven collapse and the earth split apart than he allow his brother's capture. Thus loyalty is measured by readiness to stand against the very cosmos. And it is crowned by his testimony about himself: "I recall neither a false word, nor a defeat, nor an unfulfilled promise" — his word is firm precisely because his whole life has been truth and fulfillment. The verse teaches that the worth of a promise lies in the truthfulness of the promiser's entire past life; that loyalty ready to stand against both heaven and the gods is the highest reliability; and that one who has never lied or retreated has the right to say "fear not" — for behind his word stands unbreakable truthfulness.