उपाकृत्य तु वै विद्याम् आचार्येभ्यो नरर्षभाः ॥
प्रयच्छन्तीह ये कामान् देवत्वम् उपयान्ति ते ॥
ये तु विद्याम् उपादाय गुरुभ्यः पुरुषाधमाः ॥
घ्नन्ति तान् एव दुर्वृत्तास् ते वै निरयगामिनः ॥
तद् इदं नरकायाद्य कृतं कर्म मया ध्रुवम् ॥
आचार्यं शरवर्षेण रथे सादयता कृपम् ॥
upākṛtya tu vai vidyām ācāryebhyo nararṣabhāḥ ||
prayacchantīha ye kāmān devatvam upayānti te ||
ye tu vidyām upādāya gurubhyaḥ puruṣādhamāḥ ||
ghnanti tān eva durvṛttās te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
tad idaṃ narakāyādya kṛtaṃ karma mayā dhruvam ||
ācāryaṃ śaravarṣeṇa rathe sādayatā kṛpam ||
"Having received learning from their teachers, bulls among men — those who grant their teachers their desires attain divinity. But those who, having taken learning from their masters, basest of men, malevolent, slay those same masters — they go to hell. This deed I have now surely done, one that leads to hell: bringing down the teacher, Kripa, upon his chariot with a shower of arrows."
f0ad0c0b4a81 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Arjuna sets the measure: one who reveres the teacher ascends to the divine; one who raises a hand against him descends to hell. It is telling that he spares himself nothing: "this deed leads me to hell." The verse teaches that gratitude to the teacher is the path upward, and ingratitude toward him the path downward; and the conscientious one, forced by necessity to break this law, judges himself more harshly than any judge, for his honor cannot bear the guilt before the guru.