Дхритараштра
भीष्मद्रोणाव् अतिक्रम्य धर्मपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः ॥
नान्यतो भयम् आदत्त विना कर्णं धनुर्धरम् ॥
भयान् न शेते सततं चिन्तयन् वै महारथम् ॥
तं कथं सूतपुत्रं हि भीमो ऽयुध्यत संयुगे ॥
ब्रह्मण्यं वीर्यसंपन्नं समरेष्व् अनिवर्तिनम् ॥
कथं कर्णं युधां श्रेष्ठं भीमो ऽयुध्यत संयुगे ॥
यौ तौ समीयतुर् वीराव् अर्जुनस्य रथं प्रति ॥
कथं नु ताव् अयुध्येतां सूतपुत्रवृकोदरौ ॥
bhīṣmadroṇāv atikramya dharmaputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
nānyato bhayam ādatta vinā karṇaṃ dhanurdharam ||
bhayān na śete satataṃ cintayan vai mahāratham ||
taṃ kathaṃ sūtaputraṃ hi bhīmo 'yudhyata saṃyuge ||
brahmaṇyaṃ vīryasaṃpannaṃ samareṣv anivartinam ||
kathaṃ karṇaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭhaṃ bhīmo 'yudhyata saṃyuge ||
yau tau samīyatur vīrāv arjunasya rathaṃ prati ||
kathaṃ nu tāv ayudhyetāṃ sūtaputravṛkodarau ||
Yudhishthira, son of Dharma, having surpassed Bhishma and Drona, feared nothing from anywhere except Karna, the bowman; from fear he does not sleep, ever thinking of that great warrior. How did Bhima strike in battle at Karna — good to the brahmins, endowed with valor, never retreating in battles, the foremost of warriors? Those two heroes who met at Arjuna's chariot...
14e45365afb6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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Karna alone strikes fear into Yudhishthira, who has surpassed Bhishma and Drona: "bhayāt na śete" — from fear he does not sleep. And yet Karna is called "brahmaṇyam," good to the brahmins. It is telling that even an enemy acknowledges his nobility. The verse teaches that dread and nobility can coexist: the one whom the righteous fear may still be generous and valorous, for a person's virtues are not erased by which side he stands on.