Arjuna's Case for Valour

Verse 1 (2.16.1)

सम्राड्गुणमभीप्सन्वै युष्मान्स्वार्थपरायणः । कथं प्रहिणुयां कृष्ण सोऽहं केवलसाहसात् ॥

samrāḍguṇamabhīpsanvai yuṣmānsvārthaparāyaṇaḥ | kathaṃ prahiṇuyāṃ kṛṣṇa so'haṃ kevalasāhasāt

Seeking the rank of emperor, intent on my own interest, how could I send you all forth, Krishna, on nothing but rash daring?

Verse 2 (2.16.2)

भीमार्जुनावुभौ नेत्रे मनो मन्ये जनार्दनम् । मनश्चक्षुर्विहीनस्य कीदृशं जीवितं भवेत् ॥

bhīmārjunāvubhau netre mano manye janārdanam | manaścakṣurvihīnasya kīdṛśaṃ jīvitaṃ bhavet

Bhima and Arjuna I count as my two eyes, and Janardana as my mind. What sort of life would one have without mind and eyes?

Verse 3 (2.16.3)

जरासन्धबलं प्राप्य दुष्पारं भीमविक्रमम् । यमोपि न विजेताऽऽजौ तत्र वः किं विचेष्टितम् ॥

jarāsandhabalaṃ prāpya duṣpāraṃ bhīmavikramam | yamopi na vijetā''jau tatra vaḥ kiṃ viceṣṭitam

Coming up against Jarasandha's army, hard to overcome and terrible in might, even Yama could not win the battle; what could you do there?

Verse 4 (2.16.4)

अस्मिंस्त्वर्थान्तरे युक्तमनर्थः प्रतिपद्यते । तस्मान्न प्रतिपत्तिस्तु कार्या युक्ता मता मम ॥

asmiṃstvarthāntare yuktamanarthaḥ pratipadyate | tasmānna pratipattistu kāryā yuktā matā mama

In this matter things may turn out otherwise, and disaster may follow. Therefore I do not think it right to undertake it.

Note on the text: The first line corresponds to CE 2.15.4ab; the second is not in the critical edition (vulgate recension).

Verse 5 (2.16.5)

यथाऽहं विमृशाम्येकस्तत्तावच्छ्रूयतां मम । संन्यासं रोचये साधु कार्यस्यास्य जनार्दन । प्रतिहन्ति मनो मेऽद्य राजसूयो दुराहरः ॥

yathā'haṃ vimṛśāmyekastattāvacchrūyatāṃ mama | saṃnyāsaṃ rocaye sādhu kāryasyāsya janārdana | pratihanti mano me'dya rājasūyo durāharaḥ

Hear meanwhile what I, by myself, conclude: I would rather give up this undertaking altogether, Janardana. The Rajasuya, so hard to achieve, today defeats my resolve.

Note on the text: Corrected दूराहरः → दुराहरः (misprint in Wikisource; long ū for short u — दुराहर, "hard to accomplish"; the critical edition reads durāsadaḥ). The lines correspond to CE 2.15.4cd and 2.15.5 (whole).

Verse 6 (2.16.6)

पार्थः प्राप्य धनुः श्रेष्ठमक्षय्यौ च महेषुधी । रथं ध्वजं हयांश्चैव युधिष्ठिरमभाषत ॥

pārthaḥ prāpya dhanuḥ śreṣṭhamakṣayyau ca maheṣudhī | rathaṃ dhvajaṃ hayāṃścaiva yudhiṣṭhiramabhāṣata

Partha, who had won the finest of bows, the two great inexhaustible quivers, the chariot, the banner and the horses, then spoke to Yudhishthira.

Verse 7 (2.16.7)

धनुः शस्त्रं शरा वीर्यं पक्षो भूमिर्यशो बलम् । प्राप्तमेतन्मया राजन्दुष्प्रापं यदभीप्सितम् ॥

dhanuḥ śastraṃ śarā vīryaṃ pakṣo bhūmiryaśo balam | prāptametanmayā rājanduṣprāpaṃ yadabhīpsitam

Bow, weapons, arrows, valour, allies, land, fame and strength — these I have won, O king, things hard to win and long desired.

Note on the text: Corrected मय → मया (misprint in Wikisource; dropped ा — "by me"; the critical edition reads mayā).

Verse 8 (2.16.8)

कुले जन्म प्रशंसन्ति वैद्याः साधु सुनिष्ठिताः । बलेन सदृशं नास्ति वीर्यं तु मम रोचते ॥

kule janma praśaṃsanti vaidyāḥ sādhu suniṣṭhitāḥ | balena sadṛśaṃ nāsti vīryaṃ tu mama rocate

The learned, well grounded in their knowledge, praise birth in a good family; but nothing equals strength, and it is valour that I prize.

Verse 9 (2.16.9)

कृतवीर्यकुले जातो निर्वीर्यः किं करिष्यति । निर्वीर्ये तु कुले जातो वीर्यवांस्तु विशिष्यते ॥

kṛtavīryakule jāto nirvīryaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati | nirvīrye tu kule jāto vīryavāṃstu viśiṣyate

What will a man without valour achieve, though born in a house famed for valour? But a man of valour, though born in a house without it, stands above the rest.

Note on the text: The first line corresponds to CE 2.15.9ab; the second is not in the critical edition (vulgate recension).

Verse 10 (2.16.10)

क्षत्रियः सर्वशो राजन्यस्य वृत्तिर्द्विषज्जये । सर्वैर्गुणैर्विहीनोऽपि वीर्यवान्हि तरेद्रिपून् ॥

kṣatriyaḥ sarvaśo rājanyasya vṛttirdviṣajjaye | sarvairguṇairvihīno'pi vīryavānhi taredripūn

He is a kshatriya in every sense, O king, whose calling is victory over his foes. Even one lacking every other virtue will overcome his enemies if he has valour.

Note on the text: Corrected सर्वैगुणैर् → सर्वैर्गुणैर् and तरेन्द्रिपून् → तरेद्रिपून् (misprints in Wikisource; a dropped repha, and a stray न् in तरेद् रिपून्, "would overcome his foes" — the critical edition reads sarvair api guṇair hīno … tared ripūn). The lines correspond to CE 2.15.9cd (द्विषज्जये where the critical edition has parājaye) and 2.15.10ab.

Verse 11 (2.16.11)

सर्वैरपि गुणैर्युक्तो निर्वीर्यः किं करिष्यति । जयस्य हेतुः सिद्धिर्हि कर्म दैवं च संश्रितम् ॥

sarvairapi guṇairyukto nirvīryaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati | jayasya hetuḥ siddhirhi karma daivaṃ ca saṃśritam

Though endowed with every virtue, what will a man without valour achieve? Success, which is the cause of victory, rests on effort and on fate.

Note on the text: The first line corresponds to CE 2.15.10cd and the second to 2.15.11cd; the critical edition's 2.15.11ab (dravyabhūtā guṇāḥ sarve tiṣṭhanti hi parākrame) is not in Wikisource.

Verse 12 (2.16.12)

संयुक्तो हि बलैः कश्चित्प्रमादान्नोपयुज्यते । तेन द्वारेण शत्रुभ्यः क्षीयते सबलो रिपुः ॥

saṃyukto hi balaiḥ kaścitpramādānnopayujyate | tena dvāreṇa śatrubhyaḥ kṣīyate sabalo ripuḥ

A man may be furnished with forces and yet, through negligence, fail to use them; by that door even a strong enemy is worn down by his foes.

Note on the text: Merged: Wikisource prints the two halves of this couplet as separate one-line verses (2-16-12a and 2-16-13a); together they form one verse, CE 2.15.12. Wikisource number 13 is included here.

Verse 13 (2.16.13)

दैन्यं यथाऽबलवति तथा मोहो बलान्विते । तावुभौ नाशकौ हेतू राज्ञा त्याज्यौ जयार्थिना ॥

dainyaṃ yathā'balavati tathā moho balānvite | tāvubhau nāśakau hetū rājñā tyājyau jayārthinā

As despondency ruins the weak, so does delusion the strong. Both are causes of ruin, and a king who seeks victory must cast them off.

Note on the text: Corrected यथा बलवति → यथाऽबलवति (a wrong word division in Wikisource that flips the sense: the contrast is despondency in the weak, अबलवति, against delusion in the strong — the critical edition reads yathābalavati).

Verse 14 (2.16.14)

जरासन्धविनाशं च राज्ञां च परिरक्षणम् । यदि कुर्याम यज्ञार्थं किं ततः परमं भवेत् ॥

jarāsandhavināśaṃ ca rājñāṃ ca parirakṣaṇam | yadi kuryāma yajñārthaṃ kiṃ tataḥ paramaṃ bhavet

If for the sake of the sacrifice we bring about the destruction of Jarasandha and the protection of the kings, what could be greater than that?

Note on the text: Corrected जरासन्धि- → जरासन्ध- and कुर्याम् → कुर्याम (misprints in Wikisource; a stray vowel sign in the king's name, and a halant that leaves the line a syllable short — the first person plural कुर्याम, as in the critical edition, kuryāma).

Verse 15 (2.16.15)

अनारम्भे हि नियतो भवेदगुणनिश्चयः । गुणान्निःसंशयाद्राजन्नैर्गुण्यं मन्यसे कथम् ॥

anārambhe hi niyato bhavedaguṇaniścayaḥ | guṇānniḥsaṃśayādrājannairguṇyaṃ manyase katham

If we do not act, the verdict that we lack merit is certain. When our merits are beyond doubt, O king, why do you think of us as without them?

Note on the text: Corrected निः संशयाद् → निःसंशयाद् (a stray space in Wikisource splitting the word "beyond doubt"; the critical edition reads niḥsaṃśayād).

Verse 16 (2.16.16)

काषायं सुलभं पश्चान्मुनीनां शममिच्छताम् । साम्राज्यं तु भवेच्छक्यं वयं योत्स्यामहे परान् ॥

kāṣāyaṃ sulabhaṃ paścānmunīnāṃ śamamicchatām | sāmrājyaṃ tu bhavecchakyaṃ vayaṃ yotsyāmahe parān

The ochre robe of the sages who seek peace is easy enough to take up later. Empire, though, can be won now; we will fight the enemy.