Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.89.29

ahaḿ prajāḥ vāḿ bhagavan

rakṣiṣye dīnayor iha

anistīrṇa-pratijño 'gniḿ

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 (2.34), sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate: "For a respected person, dishonor is worse than death."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari