अहं तु यत्नम् आस्थाय त्वदर्थे त्यक्तजीवितः ॥
एष गच्छामि संग्रामं त्वत्कृते कुरुनन्दन ॥
योत्स्ये ऽहं शत्रुभिः सार्धं जेष्यामि च वरान् वरान् ॥
पाञ्चालैः सह योत्स्यामि सोमकैः केकयैस् तथा ॥
पाण्डवेयैश् च संग्रामे त्वत्प्रियार्थम् अरिंदम ॥
अद्य मद्बाणनिर्दग्धाः पाञ्चालाः सोमकास् तथा ॥
सिंहेनेवार्दिता गावो विद्रविष्यन्ति सर्वतः ॥
अद्य धर्मसुतो राजा दृष्ट्वा मम पराक्रमम् ॥
अश्वत्थाममयं लोकं मंस्यते सह सोमकैः ॥
ahaṃ tu yatnam āsthāya tvadarthe tyaktajīvitaḥ ||
eṣa gacchāmi saṃgrāmaṃ tvatkṛte kurunandana ||
yotsye 'haṃ śatrubhiḥ sārdhaṃ jeṣyāmi ca varān varān ||
pāñcālaiḥ saha yotsyāmi somakaiḥ kekayais tathā ||
pāṇḍaveyaiś ca saṃgrāme tvatpriyārtham ariṃdama ||
adya madbāṇanirdagdhāḥ pāñcālāḥ somakās tathā ||
siṃhenevārditā gāvo vidraviṣyanti sarvataḥ ||
adya dharmasuto rājā dṛṣṭvā mama parākramam ||
aśvatthāmamayaṃ lokaṃ maṃsyate saha somakaiḥ ||
'I, having made an effort for your sake, sparing not my life — behold, I go into battle for your sake, joy of the Kurus. I shall fight with the enemies and conquer the best of the best; I shall fight with the Panchalas, the Somakas, and the Kekayas. Now, burned by my arrows, the Panchalas and Somakas, like cows harried by a lion, will scatter in all directions. Now the son of Dharma, the king, having seen my valor, will deem, together with the Somakas, the world full of Ashvatthama.'
678ea97cca23 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Having rebuked the king, Ashvatthama nonetheless goes into battle for him, 'sparing not his life': loyalty to duty overpowers the slight. The word 'tvatkṛte' — for your sake — is telling: the teacher's son's devotion remains unshaken. The verse teaches that true loyalty serves even one who has wounded with suspicion; and one who, having rebuked the wrongdoer, still lays down his life for him, shows loyalty to duty above any personal grievance.