भीष्मेण हि महाबाहुः सर्वक्षत्रस्य पश्यतः ॥
रथेषु गण्यमानेषु बलविक्रमशालिषु ॥
संख्यातो ऽर्धरथः कर्णो द्विगुणः सन् नरर्षभः ॥
रथातिरथसंख्यायां यो ऽग्रणीः शूरसंमतः ॥
पितृवित्ताम्बुदेवेशान् अपि यो योद्धुम् उत्सहेत् ॥
स तु तेनैव कोपेन राजन् गाङ्गेयम् उक्तवान् ॥
त्वयि जीवति कौरव्य नाहं योत्स्ये कथं चन ॥
bhīṣmeṇa hi mahābāhuḥ sarvakṣatrasya paśyataḥ ||
ratheṣu gaṇyamāneṣu balavikramaśāliṣu ||
saṃkhyāto 'rdharathaḥ karṇo dviguṇaḥ san nararṣabhaḥ ||
rathātirathasaṃkhyāyāṃ yo 'graṇīḥ śūrasaṃmataḥ ||
pitṛvittāmbudeveśān api yo yoddhum utsahet ||
sa tu tenaiva kopena rājan gāṅgeyam uktavān ||
tvayi jīvati kauravya nāhaṃ yotsye kathaṃ cana ||
For when Bhishma, before the eyes of the whole order of kshatriyas, while the chariot-warriors possessed of strength and valor were being counted, [reckoned Karna] in the ranking of rathins and atirathins — [Karna,] the mighty-armed, who would have been foremost, honored by heroes, who would have dared to fight even the lords of the ancestors, of wealth, of the waters, and of the gods [Yama, Kubera, Varuna, Indra] — he, O king, out of that very anger, said to the son of Ganga: "While you live, O Kauravya, I will not fight in any way."
93faa515e624 · publicado 19 jul 2026, 14:46:26 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here the root of Karna's grievance is laid bare: when the warriors were counted, Bhishma would not grant him the full rank of a rathin, and wounded pride turned into a vow — not to fight while the grandsire lived. Thus personal vanity is set above the common cause, and valor, however great, is found captive to a wounded self. It is telling that the one who 'would have dared to fight the gods' bows before his own anger — outward might is not mastery over oneself. The verse teaches that unchecked pride turns even the greatest hero into an instrument of discord; and that valor unrefined by humility serves not dharma but its own vanity — and is therefore fruitless.