Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 29

Sanskrit:

अहं प्रजा: वां भगवन् रक्षिष्ये दीनयोरिह ।अनिस्तीर्णप्रतिज्ञोऽग्निं प्रवेक्ष्ये हतकल्मष: ॥ २९ ॥

ITRANS:

ahaṁ prajāḥ vāṁ bhagavanrakṣiṣye dīnayor ihaanistīrṇa-pratijño ’gniṁpravekṣye hata-kalmaṣaḥ

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.”