भीष्म उवाच
अचलो वृषकश् चैव भ्रातरौ सहिताव् उभौ ॥
रथौ तव दुराधर्षौ शत्रून् विध्वंसयिष्यतः ॥
बलवन्तौ नरव्याघ्रौ दृढक्रोधौ प्रहारिणौ ॥
गान्धारमुख्यौ तरुणौ दर्शनीयौ महाबलौ ॥
सखा ते दयितो नित्यं य एष रणकर्कशः ॥
प्रोत्साहयति राजंस् त्वां विग्रहे पाण्डवैः सह ॥
परुषः कत्थनो नीचः कर्णो वैकर्तनस् तव ॥
मन्त्री नेता च बन्धुश् च मानी चात्यन्तम् उच्छ्रितः ॥
एष नैव रथः पूर्णो नाप्य् एवातिरथो नृप ॥
वियुक्तः कवचेनैष सहजेन विचेतनः ॥
कुण्डलाभ्यां च दिव्याभ्यां वियुक्तः सततं घृणी ॥
bhīṣma uvāca
acalo vṛṣakaś caiva bhrātarau sahitāv ubhau ||
rathau tava durādharṣau śatrūn vidhvaṃsayiṣyataḥ ||
balavantau naravyāghrau dṛḍhakrodhau prahāriṇau ||
gāndhāramukhyau taruṇau darśanīyau mahābalau ||
sakhā te dayito nityaṃ ya eṣa raṇakarkaśaḥ ||
protsāhayati rājaṃs tvāṃ vigrahe pāṇḍavaiḥ saha ||
paruṣaḥ katthano nīcaḥ karṇo vaikartanas tava ||
mantrī netā ca bandhuś ca mānī cātyantam ucchritaḥ ||
eṣa naiva rathaḥ pūrṇo nāpy evātiratho nṛpa ||
viyuktaḥ kavacenaiṣa sahajena vicetanaḥ ||
kuṇḍalābhyāṃ ca divyābhyāṃ viyuktaḥ satataṃ ghṛṇī ||
Bhishma said: Achala and Vrishaka, two brothers together, are your two unassailable rathas; they will crush your enemies. Strong, tigers among men, firm in wrath and dealing blows, foremost among the Gandharans, young, fair of form and mighty, they will fight. He who is ever dear to you as a friend, this warrior stern in battle, urges you, O king, toward strife with the Pandavas. Harsh, boastful, and base, Karna Vaikartana is your counselor, leader, kinsman, and a proud man, excessively arrogant. He is not even a full ratha, still less an atiratha, O king: this reckless man is deprived of his innate armor and forever suffers, deprived of his two divine earrings.
8de661a4bc3a · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:32:37 AM UTC
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In this chapter the hidden rift within the Kaurava camp becomes visible. Bhishma calls Karna a half-ratha not out of simple dislike: he is pointing to the loss of Karna's natural armor, to the curses laid on him, and to his unreliability at the decisive moment. But Karna hears this as public humiliation and answers even more destructively, calling into question Bhishma's very ability to judge warriors. Thus, on the eve of war, the weakness of Duryodhana's side becomes apparent: an outwardly immense army is already cracking from within, undone by pride, rivalry, and an inability to accept the truth.