Mahabharata · 7.34.16–17
॥
Devanāgarī
अभिमन्यो वरं तात याचतां दातुम् अर्हसि ॥
पितॄणां मातुलानां च सैन्यानां चैव सर्वशः ॥
धनंजयो हि नस् तात गर्हयेद् एत्य संयुगात् ॥
क्षिप्रम् अस्त्रं समादाय द्रोणानीकं विशातय ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
abhimanyo varaṃ tāta yācatāṃ dātum arhasi ||
pitṝṇāṃ mātulānāṃ ca sainyānāṃ caiva sarvaśaḥ ||
dhanaṃjayo hi nas tāta garhayed etya saṃyugāt ||
kṣipram astraṃ samādāya droṇānīkaṃ viśātaya ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अभिमन्योabhimanyoO Abhimanyu; O Abhimanyu
वरम्varamboon [favor]; favor
तातtātaO dear one [son]; son
याचताम्yācatām[to] those who beg; [to us,] who beg
दातुम्dātumto grant [to give]; to grant
अर्हसिarhasiyou should [may you be pleased to]; may you be pleased to
पितॄणाम्pitṝṇāmof the fathers; to the fathers
मातुलानाम्mātulānāmof the maternal uncles; to the maternal uncles
चcaand; —
सैन्यानाम्sainyānāmof the armies [hosts]; [and] to the hosts
चcaand; —
एवevaindeed; —
सर्वशःsarvaśaḥwholly [entirely]; entirely
धनंजयःdhanaṃjayaḥDhananjaya [Arjuna]; Dhananjaya
हिhiindeed; indeed
नःnaḥus; us
तातtātaO dear one [son]; son
गर्हयेत्garhayetwould reproach; would reproach
एत्यetyahaving come [returning]; returning
संयुगात्saṃyugātfrom the battle [from the field]; from the battlefield
क्षिप्रम्kṣipramquickly [swiftly]; swiftly
अस्त्रम्astramweapon; weapon
समादायsamādāyahaving taken; having taken
द्रोणानीकम्droṇānīkamthe array of Drona; Drona's array
विशातयviśātayascatter [destroy]; destroy
Translation
"O Abhimanyu, son, may you be pleased to grant a favor to us who beg — to your fathers, and to your maternal uncles, and to all the hosts entirely. For Dhananjaya, son, upon returning from the battlefield, would surely reproach us. Swiftly, taking up your weapon, destroy Drona's array."
Version
9fe21cc48611 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The elders — the fathers and uncles — "beg" the boy, asking a favor of him: a touching and troubling reversal of order, where grown men depend on the young. In their very entreaty lies both love and an unwitting laying of the unbearable upon a child. It is telling that the fear of Arjuna's reproach sounds again — it hastens the decision without allowing the risk to be weighed. The verse teaches that there are hours when elders are forced to ask of the younger what they themselves cannot do; that such a request, for all its love, is dangerous if it asks beyond the strength of the one asked; and that fear of another's reproach is a poor counselor in the hour of decision, for it rushes toward what should have been approached with caution, and drives one to send a child into what he should instead have been shielded from.