Mahabharata · 7.57.1–2
॥
Devanāgarī
संजय उवाच
कुन्तीपुत्रस् तु तं मन्त्रं स्मरन्न् एव धनंजयः ॥
प्रतिज्ञाम् आत्मनो रक्षन् मुमोहाचिन्त्यविक्रमः ॥
तं तु शोकेन संतप्तं स्वप्ने कपिवरध्वजम् ॥
आससाद महातेजा ध्यायन्तं गरुडध्वजः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
saṃjaya uvāca
kuntīputras tu taṃ mantraṃ smarann eva dhanaṃjayaḥ ||
pratijñām ātmano rakṣan mumohācintyavikramaḥ ||
taṃ tu śokena saṃtaptaṃ svapne kapivaradhvajam ||
āsasāda mahātejā dhyāyantaṃ garuḍadhvajaḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कुन्तीपुत्रः तुkuntīputraḥ tuson of Kunti indeed; son of Kunti indeed
तम् मन्त्रम् स्मरन्tam mantram smaranremembering that speech [vow]; remembering that vow
एव धनंजयःeva dhanaṃjayaḥthat very [one], Dhananjaya; Dhananjaya
प्रतिज्ञाम् आत्मनः रक्षन्pratijñām ātmanaḥ rakṣanguarding his own vow; keeping his own vow
मुमोहmumohafell into oblivion [was overcome]; fell into oblivion
अचिन्त्यविक्रमःacintyavikramaḥ[he,] of inconceivable valor; inconceivable in valor
तम् तु शोकेन संतप्तम्tam tu śokena saṃtaptamhim indeed, consumed by grief; him indeed, scorched by grief
स्वप्ने कपिवरध्वजम्svapne kapivaradhvajamin a dream — [him,] bearing the monkey-banner; in a dream — the monkey-bannered one
आससाद महातेजाःāsasāda mahātejāḥapproached the mighty one; approached the mighty one
ध्यायन्तम् गरुडध्वजःdhyāyantam garuḍadhvajaḥto the meditating one — [Krishna,] bearing the Garuda-banner; to the one meditating — the Garuda-bannered one
Translation
The son of Kunti, Dhananjaya, ever recalling that vow and guarding his own word, fell into oblivion, he of inconceivable valor. And to him, consumed by grief, in a dream — to the monkey-bannered one, lost in thought — the mighty Garuda-bannered one (Krishna) drew near.
Version
0415e897f2db · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worn out by brooding over his vow, Arjuna sinks into oblivion — and at once, "svapne… āsasāda garuḍadhvajaḥ," in a dream Krishna comes to him. It is significant that the Lord appears to His devotee at the very hour of exhaustion: where a man's strength runs out, there God's action begins. The dream here is no escape but a gateway of divine manifestation. The verse teaches that the Lord does not abandon His own even in weakness: when devotion to duty brings a man to the point of collapse, He Himself descends — though it be only in a dream — to show the way where human strength is already spent.