Mahabharata · 7.3.23
॥
Devanāgarī
तम् अद्याहं पाण्डवं युद्धशौण्डम्; अमृष्यमाणो भवतानुशिष्टः ॥
आशीविषं दृष्टिहरं सुघोरम्; इयां पुरस्कृत्य वधं जयं वा ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
tam adyāhaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ yuddhaśauṇḍam; amṛṣyamāṇo bhavatānuśiṣṭaḥ ||
āśīviṣaṃ dṛṣṭiharaṃ sughoram; iyāṃ puraskṛtya vadhaṃ jayaṃ vā ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तम्tamthat; him [Arjuna]
अद्यadyanow; today
अहम्ahamI; [myself] I
पाण्डवम्pāṇḍavamthe Pandava [Arjuna]; son of Pandu
युद्धशौण्डम्yuddhaśauṇḍamintoxicated with battle; greedy for combat
अमृष्यमाणःamṛṣyamāṇaḥnot enduring [him]; not tolerating [his superiority]
भवताbhavatāby you; [being] by you
अनुशिष्टःanuśiṣṭaḥinstructed; taught
आशीविषम्āśīviṣama venomous serpent; [like] a viper
दृष्टिहरम्dṛṣṭiharamkilling with [a single] glance; [the one] whose gaze is deadly
सुघोरम्sughorammost terrible; most dreadful
इयाम्iyāmI shall go [to meet]; I shall go forth
पुरस्कृत्यpuraskṛtyasetting before myself [choosing]; having made [it] my purpose
वधम्vadhamdeath [destruction]; [my own] death
जयम्jayamvictory; [or] victory
वाvāor; either
Translation
[Karna:] Now I, unable to endure that Pandava [Arjuna] intoxicated with battle, instructed by you, shall go forth to meet him — [like] a venomous serpent whose gaze is deadly, most terrible — setting before myself either death or victory.
Version
d6dbd67216e3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Karna asks Bhishma not for mercy, nor for counsel to flee, but for a blessing before battle, in which he foresees for himself either death or victory. He accepts both outcomes and so frees himself from fear. The image of Arjuna as a venomous serpent whose gaze is deadly betrays how formidable Karna knows him to be — and still he goes. Yet his plea, instruct me, is addressed to a dying grandfather, and here, in the chapter to come, something greater than military counsel will unfold. The verse teaches that courage lies not in denying danger but in accepting it; that one who seeks the blessing of the righteous before a decisive hour acts wisely; and that faithfulness to duty, carrying a man toward a foe he knows to be stronger, is noble — though here it is shadowed by being spent in an unjust cause.