ŚB 10.89.29
Devanagari
अहं प्रजा: वां भगवन् रक्षिष्ये दीनयोरिह ।
अनिस्तीर्णप्रतिज्ञोऽग्निं प्रवेक्ष्ये हतकल्मष: ॥ २९ ॥
अनिस्तीर्णप्रतिज्ञोऽग्निं प्रवेक्ष्ये हतकल्मष: ॥ २९ ॥
Verse text
ahaṁ prajāḥ vāṁ bhagavan
rakṣiṣye dīnayor iha
anistīrṇa-pratijño ’gniṁ
pravekṣye hata-kalmaṣaḥ
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 (2.34), sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atiricyate: “For a respected person, dishonor is worse than death.”