Mahabharata · 7.59.11–12
॥
Devanāgarī
स तथा कुरु वार्ष्णेय यथा त्वयि मनो मम ॥
अर्जुनस्य यथा सत्या प्रतिज्ञा स्याच् चिकीर्षिता ॥
स भवांस् तारयत्व् अस्माद् दुःखामर्षमहार्णवात् ॥
पारं तितीर्षताम् अद्य प्लवो नो भव माधव ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
sa tathā kuru vārṣṇeya yathā tvayi mano mama ||
arjunasya yathā satyā pratijñā syāc cikīrṣitā ||
sa bhavāṃs tārayatv asmād duḥkhāmarṣamahārṇavāt ||
pāraṃ titīrṣatām adya plavo no bhava mādhava ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः तथा कुरु वार्ष्णेयsaḥ tathā kuru vārṣṇeyaso do, O Varshneya; so act, O Varshneya
यथा त्वयि मनः ममyathā tvayi manaḥ mamaas my mind [is fixed] on you; as my mind rests on you
अर्जुनस्य यथा सत्याarjunasya yathā satyāand as [would be] true of Arjuna's; and as Arjuna's would come true
प्रतिज्ञा स्यात् चिकीर्षिताpratijñā syāt cikīrṣitāvow -- the one he has resolved on; vow -- the one he has resolved on
सः भवान् तारयतु अस्मात्saḥ bhavān tārayatu asmātmay you carry us across from this; may you deliver us from this
दुःखामर्षमहार्णवात्duḥkhāmarṣamahārṇavātgreat ocean of grief and wrath; great ocean of grief and wrath
पारम् तितीर्षताम् अद्यpāram titīrṣatām adyaus, longing to reach the shore, today; longing to reach the shore, today
प्लवः नः भव माधवplavaḥ naḥ bhava mādhavabe our vessel, O Madhava; be our vessel, O Madhava
Translation
"So act, O Varshneya, as my mind is fixed upon you, and so that Arjuna's vow, which he has resolved upon, may come true. May you carry us across this great ocean of grief and wrath; to us who long today to reach the far shore, be our vessel, O Madhava."
Version
5f218419a4cf · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image "plavaḥ naḥ bhava", "be our vessel", is the most ancient image of God as the crossing over the ocean of existence (samsara). Here the ocean is "duḥkhāmarṣa", of grief and wrath, and only the Lord ferries one across to the far shore. It is significant that the king does not demand but entrusts himself: "yathā tvayi manaḥ mama", "as my mind rests on you." The verse teaches that God alone is the vessel across the flood of suffering: by one's own strength the shore cannot be reached; to the surrendered soul remains only to beg the Lord to become the crossing -- and it is this reliance, not one's own effort, that saves from the abyss.