धार्तराष्ट्रप्रियकरं मयि विस्मृतसौहृदम् ॥
पापं बालवधे हेतुं श्वो ऽस्मि हन्ता जयद्रथम् ॥
रक्षमाणाश् च तं संख्ये ये मां योत्स्यन्ति के चन ॥
अपि द्रोणकृपौ वीरौ छादयिष्यामि ताञ् शरैः ॥
dhārtarāṣṭrapriyakaraṃ mayi vismṛtasauhṛdam ||
pāpaṃ bālavadhe hetuṃ śvo 'smi hantā jayadratham ||
rakṣamāṇāś ca taṃ saṃkhye ye māṃ yotsyanti ke cana ||
api droṇakṛpau vīrau chādayiṣyāmi tāñ śaraiḥ ||
"He who did what was pleasing to the sons of Dhritarashtra, who forgot his bond of friendship with me — the villain, the cause of the boy's death — tomorrow I shall slay Jayadratha. And whoever comes forth against me, guarding him in battle — even were it the heroes Drona and Kripa — I shall shroud them with arrows."
0afe2270806e · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
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Arjuna names Jayadratha's guilt precisely: "vismṛtasauhṛdam", "one who forgot the bond of friendship" (for he is husband to their own sister Dushala), "bālavadhe hetum", "the cause of the child's death". It is not blind rage but judgment upon betrayal that moves the vow. And yet its limit remains strict: to strike only those who stand in defense of the villain — "even Drona and Kripa", his own revered teachers. It is telling that the oath is aimed at the guilty one, not at all indiscriminately. The verse teaches that righteous retribution is precise in its aim: it strikes the guilty and those who shield him, but does not spill over into indiscriminate fury.