SB 10.89.29

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, Chapter 89: Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna Retrieve a Brāhmaṇa's Sons

SB 10.89.28

SB 10.89.30

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 29

ahaṁ prajāḥ vāṁ bhagavan
rakṣiṣye dīnayor iha
anistīrṇa-pratijño 'gniṁ
pravekṣye hata-kalmaṣaḥ

SYNONYMS

aham—I; prajāḥ—the offspring; vām—of you two (you and your wife); bhagavan—O lord; rakṣiṣye—will protect; dīnayoḥ—who are wretched; iha—in this matter; anistīrṇa—failing to fulfill; pratijñaḥ—my promise; agnim—fire; pravekṣye—I will enter; hata—destroyed; kalmaṣaḥ—whose contamination.

TRANSLATION

"My lord, I will protect the progeny of you and your wife, who are in such distress. And if I fail to keep this promise, I will enter fire to atone for my sin."

PURPORT

Chivalrous Arjuna could not tolerate the shame of being unable to fulfill his promise. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 2.34), sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate: "For a respected person, dishonor is worse than death."