अहं च क्षत्रियो जातो न प्राप्तः क्षत्रसत्क्रियाम् ॥
त्वत्कृते किं नु पापीयः शत्रुः कुर्यान् ममाहितम् ॥
क्रियाकाले त्व् अनुक्रोशम् अकृत्वा त्वम् इमं मम ॥
हीनसंस्कारसमयम् अद्य मां समचूचुदः ॥
न वै मम हितं पूर्वं मातृवच् चेष्टितं त्वया ॥
सा मां संबोधयस्य् अद्य केवलात्महितैषिणी ॥
कृष्णेन सहितात् को वै न व्यथेत धनंजयात् ॥
को ऽद्य भीतं न मां विद्यात् पार्थानां समितिं गतम् ॥
अभ्राता विदितः पूर्वं युद्धकाले प्रकाशितः ॥
पाण्डवान् यदि गच्छामि किं मां क्षत्रं वदिष्यति ॥
ahaṃ ca kṣatriyo jāto na prāptaḥ kṣatrasatkriyām ||
tvatkṛte kiṃ nu pāpīyaḥ śatruḥ kuryān mamāhitam ||
kriyākāle tv anukrośam akṛtvā tvam imaṃ mama ||
hīnasaṃskārasamayam adya māṃ samacūcudaḥ ||
na vai mama hitaṃ pūrvaṃ mātṛvac ceṣṭitaṃ tvayā ||
sā māṃ saṃbodhayasy adya kevalātmahitaiṣiṇī ||
kṛṣṇena sahitāt ko vai na vyatheta dhanaṃjayāt ||
ko 'dya bhītaṃ na māṃ vidyāt pārthānāṃ samitiṃ gatam ||
abhrātā viditaḥ pūrvaṃ yuddhakāle prakāśitaḥ ||
pāṇḍavān yadi gacchāmi kiṃ māṃ kṣatraṃ vadiṣyati ||
‘I was born a kshatriya, yet I have not received the honor and rites due a kshatriya. Because of you, what worse enemy could have done me greater harm? At the time of the rite you showed me no pity, and today, when I am left without the sacraments due me, you urge me on. Before, you did not act toward me for my good, as a mother should; today you appeal to me seeking only your own benefit. Who would not tremble before Dhananjaya joined with Krishna? Who today would not think me afraid, if I went over to the host of the Parthas? If before I was unknown as a brother, and revealed only in the hour of war, what will the kshatriyas say of me if I go to the Pandavas?’
0d4a0125486c · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:17:17 AM UTC
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Karna acknowledges the truth spoken by Kunti and the Sun, but chooses loyalty to those who took him in. His dharma here is tragic: he does not go over to his brothers, yet he gives his mother a genuine promise of mercy, sparing four of the Pandavas from his hand.