यांश् च तान् स्तौषि सततं दुर्योधनरिपून् द्विज ॥
तेषाम् अपि हताः शूराः शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
क्षीयन्ते सर्वसैन्यानि कुरूणां पाण्डवैः सह ॥
प्रभावं नात्र पश्यामि पाण्डवानां कथं चन ॥
यांस् तान् बलवतो नित्यं मन्यसे त्वं द्विजाधम ॥
यतिष्ये ऽहं यथाशक्ति योद्धुं तैः सह संयुगे ॥
दुर्योधनहितार्थाय जयो दैवे प्रतिष्ठितः ॥
yāṃś ca tān stauṣi satataṃ duryodhanaripūn dvija ||
teṣām api hatāḥ śūrāḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
kṣīyante sarvasainyāni kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha ||
prabhāvaṃ nātra paśyāmi pāṇḍavānāṃ kathaṃ cana ||
yāṃs tān balavato nityaṃ manyase tvaṃ dvijādhama ||
yatiṣye 'haṃ yathāśakti yoddhuṃ taiḥ saha saṃyuge ||
duryodhanahitārthāya jayo daive pratiṣṭhitaḥ ||
"Those whom you constantly praise, the enemies of Duryodhana, O twice-born -- among them too brave men have been slain by hundreds and thousands. All the armies are diminishing, both of the Kurus and the Pandavas; I do not see any special might of the Pandavas at all. Those whom you always consider mighty, O lowest of the twice-born -- I will try, to the best of my ability, to fight with them in combat."
9fb5aa14b8d7 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Karna concludes: both armies perish, and there is no special might in the Pandavas -- yet "I will try to the best of my strength." It is telling that this humility closes the dispute: after all his boasting, he reduces everything to a feasible effort. The verse teaches that beneath loud words a simple resolve to do one's duty often hides; and one who, after railing, says "I will try as best I can" stands closer to the truth of nishkama-karma than at the start of his proud vows.