असमाप्ते ततस् तस्य वचने वदतां वर ॥
यन्त्रोत्क्षिप्त इव क्षिप्रम् उत्तस्थौ सर्वतो जनः ॥
प्रीतिश् च पुरुषव्याघ्र दुर्योधनम् अथास्पृशत् ॥
ह्रीश् च क्रोधश् च बीभत्सुं क्षणेनान्वविशच् च ह ॥
ततो द्रोणाभ्यनुज्ञातः कर्णः प्रियरणः सदा ॥
यत् कृतं तत्र पार्थेन तच् चकार महाबलः ॥
अथ दुर्योधनस् तत्र भ्रातृभिः सह भारत ॥
कर्णं परिष्वज्य मुदा ततो वचनम् अब्रवीत् ॥
स्वागतं ते महाबाहो दिष्ट्या प्राप्तो ऽसि मानद ॥
अहं च कुरुराज्यं च यथेष्टम् उपभुज्यताम् ॥
asamāpte tatas tasya vacane vadatāṃ vara ||
yantrotkṣipta iva kṣipram uttasthau sarvato janaḥ ||
prītiś ca puruṣavyāghra duryodhanam athāspṛśat ||
hrīś ca krodhaś ca bībhatsuṃ kṣaṇenānvaviśac ca ha ||
tato droṇābhyanujñātaḥ karṇaḥ priyaraṇaḥ sadā ||
yat kṛtaṃ tatra pārthena tac cakāra mahābalaḥ ||
atha duryodhanas tatra bhrātṛbhiḥ saha bhārata ||
karṇaṃ pariṣvajya mudā tato vacanam abravīt ||
svāgataṃ te mahābāho diṣṭyā prāpto 'si mānada ||
ahaṃ ca kururājyaṃ ca yatheṣṭam upabhujyatām ||
"His speech was not yet finished when, as if flung up by a machine, the people rose at once from every side; and joy touched Duryodhana, while shame and anger in an instant seized Arjuna. Then, with Drona's permission, Karna, ever fond of battle, repeated what had been done there by Partha. Then Duryodhana, together with his brothers, embracing Karna with joy, said: 'Welcome to you, mighty-armed one; fortunate that you have come; dispose of me and the kingdom of the Kurus as you wish.'"
6873c734a6c3 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:53:32 PM UTC
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Here the fateful alliance of Karna and Duryodhana is born. It matters that Duryodhana instantly perceives in Karna an instrument against the Pandavas: his joy is no disinterested affection but calculation, having found at last an equal to Arjuna. Here it becomes clear how evil gathers evil: an envious king and a wounded warrior are drawn to each other, and the enmity gains a second leader. Telling, too, is Duryodhana's generosity — "dispose of me and the kingdom": he is not sparing, for he has gained something priceless, a rival to Arjuna. Thus the scripture shows the beginning of a friendship that will become the strongest in the epic and, at the same time, the most ruinous: on it Duryodhana will build his defiance, and Karna his doom.