व्यवस्थानम् अथाकाङ्क्षन् धनंजयशरैर् हतम् ॥
उद्यम्य कुञ्जरं पार्थस् तस्थौ परपुरंजयः ॥
तम् अस्य विशिखैः कर्णो व्यधमत् कुञ्जरं पुनः ॥
हस्त्यङ्गान्य् अथ कर्णाय प्राहिणोत् पाण्डवो नदन् ॥
चक्राण्य् अश्वांस् तथा वाहान् यद् यत् पश्यति भूतले ॥
तत् तद् आदाय चिक्षेप क्रुद्धः कर्णाय पाण्डवः ॥
तद् अस्य सर्वं चिच्छेद क्षिप्तं क्षिप्तं शितैः शरैः ॥
व्यायुधं नावधीच् चैनं कर्णः कुन्त्या वचः स्मरन् ॥
vyavasthānam athākāṅkṣan dhanaṃjayaśarair hatam ||
udyamya kuñjaraṃ pārthas tasthau parapuraṃjayaḥ ||
tam asya viśikhaiḥ karṇo vyadhamat kuñjaraṃ punaḥ ||
hastyaṅgāny atha karṇāya prāhiṇot pāṇḍavo nadan ||
cakrāṇy aśvāṃs tathā vāhān yad yat paśyati bhūtale ||
tat tad ādāya cikṣepa kruddhaḥ karṇāya pāṇḍavaḥ ||
tad asya sarvaṃ ciccheda kṣiptaṃ kṣiptaṃ śitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
vyāyudhaṃ nāvadhīc cainaṃ karṇaḥ kuntyā vacaḥ smaran ||
Then, seeking a footing, the Partha, conqueror of enemy cities, lifted up an elephant slain by the arrows of Dhananjaya, and stood. That elephant Karna shattered once more with his arrows; then the Pandava, roaring, hurled elephant-limbs at Karna. Wheels, horses, and draft-animals — whatever he saw on the ground, that and that he took and flung, enraged, at Karna, the Pandava. All that of his, thrown after thrown, [Karna] cut with sharp arrows; but he did not slay him, unarmed, Karna, remembering the word of Kunti.
44c13e5e94b9 · प्रकाशित 19 जुल॰ 2026, 4:25:13 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here is the heart of the chapter: Karna, who could have killed the unarmed man, does not kill him, 'remembering the word of Kunti.' He had given his mother a vow to spare all her sons save Arjuna — and he keeps it even amid the fury of battle. It is telling that faithfulness to a given word restrains the victor's hand where everything permitted him to kill. The verse teaches that true strength shows itself in restraint: to hold back a blow for the sake of a vow is greater than to deal it; and a vow kept in the midst of wrath is a mark of nobility, not of weakness.