आहूतस् तैर् नरव्याघ्रैः पार्थः परपुरंजयः ॥
धर्मराजम् इदं वाक्यम् अपदान्तरम् अब्रवीत् ॥
आहूतो न निवर्तेयम् इति मे व्रतम् आहितम् ॥
संशप्तकाश् च मां राजन्न् आह्वयन्ति पुनः पुनः ॥
एष च भ्रातृभिः सार्धं सुशर्माह्वयते रणे ॥
वधाय सगणस्यास्य माम् अनुज्ञातुम् अर्हसि ॥
नैतच् छक्नोमि संसोढुम् आह्वानं पुरुषर्षभ ॥
सत्यं ते प्रतिजानामि हतान् विद्धि परान् युधि ॥
āhūtas tair naravyāghraiḥ pārthaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ ||
dharmarājam idaṃ vākyam apadāntaram abravīt ||
āhūto na nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam ||
saṃśaptakāś ca māṃ rājann āhvayanti punaḥ punaḥ ||
eṣa ca bhrātṛbhiḥ sārdhaṃ suśarmāhvayate raṇe ||
vadhāya sagaṇasyāsya mām anujñātum arhasi ||
naitac chaknomi saṃsoḍhum āhvānaṃ puruṣarṣabha ||
satyaṃ te pratijānāmi hatān viddhi parān yudhi ||
Challenged by those tigers among men, Partha [Arjuna], the vanquisher of enemy strongholds, without delay spoke this word to the king of dharma [Yudhishthira]: 'Being challenged, I will not retreat — such is the vow I have taken; and the samshaptakas, O king, challenge me time after time. And now this Susharman, together with his brothers, challenges me to battle; it behooves you to release me to his doom and that of his companions. I cannot endure this challenge, O foremost of men; truly I vow to you — consider these foes already struck down in battle.'
d196f06fc33c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
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Arjuna's vow — 'being challenged, I will not retreat' — is pure and firm, yet it is precisely this that the enemy turns into bait: the nobler the rule, the more surely it ensnares the noble. Here the vulnerability of virtue itself, unmingled with discernment, lies exposed. And yet Arjuna asks leave of his elder — he is not self-willed but submits to the dharma of seniority even in a surge of honor. The verse teaches that a firm rule of honor is both strength and vulnerability, for the enemy counts precisely on faithfulness to it; that even in fulfilling a vow one should seek the blessing of an elder; and that the noblest fidelity to one's word needs the covering of discernment, lest it become a weapon in another's hands.