सर्वकामैः संविभक्तः पूजितश् च सदा भृशम् ॥
अहं वै धार्तराष्ट्राणां कुर्यां तद् अफलं कथम् ॥
उपनह्य परैर् वैरं ये मां नित्यम् उपासते ॥
नमस्कुर्वन्ति च सदा वसवो वासवं यथा ॥
मम प्राणेन ये शत्रूञ् शक्ताः प्रतिसमासितुम् ॥
मन्यन्ते ऽद्य कथं तेषाम् अहं भिन्द्यां मनोरथम् ॥
मया प्लवेन संग्रामं तितीर्षन्ति दुरत्ययम् ॥
अपारे पारकामा ये त्यजेयं तान् अहं कथम् ॥
अयं हि कालः संप्राप्तो धार्तराष्ट्रोपजीविनाम् ॥
निर्वेष्टव्यं मया तत्र प्राणान् अपरिरक्षता ॥
sarvakāmaiḥ saṃvibhaktaḥ pūjitaś ca sadā bhṛśam ||
ahaṃ vai dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ kuryāṃ tad aphalaṃ katham ||
upanahya parair vairaṃ ye māṃ nityam upāsate ||
namaskurvanti ca sadā vasavo vāsavaṃ yathā ||
mama prāṇena ye śatrūñ śaktāḥ pratisamāsitum ||
manyante 'dya kathaṃ teṣām ahaṃ bhindyāṃ manoratham ||
mayā plavena saṃgrāmaṃ titīrṣanti duratyayam ||
apāre pārakāmā ye tyajeyaṃ tān ahaṃ katham ||
ayaṃ hi kālaḥ saṃprāpto dhārtarāṣṭropajīvinām ||
nirveṣṭavyaṃ mayā tatra prāṇān aparirakṣatā ||
‘The sons of Dhritarashtra have always shared every blessing with me and honored me greatly; how can I render that fruitless? Those who for my sake bound themselves in enmity with others serve me constantly and always bow to me, as the Vasus bow to Vasava. They believe that with my life they are able to withstand their enemies; how shall I today shatter their hope? Those who wish to cross the insurmountable, shoreless battle using me as their raft, desiring the farther shore — how shall I abandon them? This is indeed the hour for those who live by the son of Dhritarashtra; there I must repay my debt, not sparing my own life.’
bb0168dc89df · 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.