Санджая
भीष्मेण तु रणे पार्थाः पालिता बाहुशालिना ॥
तांस् तु कर्णः शरैस् तीक्ष्णैर् नाशयिष्यत्य् असंशयम् ॥
एवं ब्रुवन्तस् ते ऽन्योन्यं हृष्टरूपा विशां पते ॥
राधेयं पूजयन्तश् च प्रशंसन्तश् च निर्ययुः ॥
bhīṣmeṇa tu raṇe pārthāḥ pālitā bāhuśālinā ||
tāṃs tu karṇaḥ śarais tīkṣṇair nāśayiṣyaty asaṃśayam ||
evaṃ bruvantas te 'nyonyaṃ hṛṣṭarūpā viśāṃ pate ||
rādheyaṃ pūjayantaś ca praśaṃsantaś ca niryayuḥ ||
'It was Bhishma alone, mighty-armed, who shielded the Parthas in battle [and let them survive]; but Karna will surely destroy them with his sharp arrows.' So saying to one another, gladdened, O lord of the people, honoring and praising Radheya [Karna], they marched forth to battle.
d59695087269 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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The warriors convince themselves with a distorted reading of the past: as though the Pandavas survived not by their own strength but only because Bhishma 'spared' them. Thus self-deception rewrites what has happened to suit what is wished for, turning an enemy's might into someone else's mercy. On this false foundation a new hope is built — 'Karna will surely destroy them.' The verse teaches that hope fed by a distortion of truth is doubly unreliable; that ascribing an opponent's survival to leniency rather than to his valor is a way of refusing to see his strength; and that an army going into battle with a faith propped on self-deception carries within it the seed of swift disillusion.