संजय उवाच
एवम् उक्तस् तु राधेयः प्रहसन् भरतर्षभ ॥
अब्रवीच् च तदा कर्णो गुरुं शारद्वतं कृपम् ॥
सत्यम् उक्तं त्वया ब्रह्मन् पाण्डवान् प्रति यद् वचः ॥
एते चान्ये च बहवो गुणाः पाण्डुसुतेषु वै ॥
अजय्याश् च रणे पार्था देवैर् अपि सवासवैः ॥
सदैत्ययक्षगन्धर्वपिशाचोरगराक्षसैः ॥
तथापि पार्थाञ् जेष्यामि शक्त्या वासवदत्तया ॥
ममाप्य् अमोघा दत्तेयं शक्तिः शक्रेण वै द्विज ॥
एतया निहनिष्यामि सव्यसाचिनम् आहवे ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
evam uktas tu rādheyaḥ prahasan bharatarṣabha ||
abravīc ca tadā karṇo guruṃ śāradvataṃ kṛpam ||
satyam uktaṃ tvayā brahman pāṇḍavān prati yad vacaḥ ||
ete cānye ca bahavo guṇāḥ pāṇḍusuteṣu vai ||
ajayyāś ca raṇe pārthā devair api savāsavaiḥ ||
sadaityayakṣagandharvapiśācoragarākṣasaiḥ ||
tathāpi pārthāñ jeṣyāmi śaktyā vāsavadattayā ||
mamāpy amoghā datteyaṃ śaktiḥ śakreṇa vai dvija ||
etayā nihaniṣyāmi savyasācinam āhave ||
Thus addressed, Rādheya, laughing, O bull among the Bharatas, then spoke to his teacher Śāradvata Kṛpa: "Truly you have spoken the word about the Pāṇḍavas; these and many other virtues are in the sons of Pāṇḍu, and the Pārthas are invincible in battle even by the gods headed by Vāsava. But to me is given this unfailing spear by Śakra, O twice-born; with it I will slay Savyasācin in battle."
6f5c9fa862ba · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Karna does not dispute the praise of the Pandavas -- he grants their invincibility; all his hope rests on one spear of Indra. It is telling how narrow this becomes: he imagines overcoming the invincible by a single gift. The verse teaches that trust reduced to one weapon against an unconquerable foe is despair dressed as confidence; one who admits the enemy cannot be overcome yet believes in a single trump card is building on the point of a needle.