Shloka 7
Chapter 61: Karṇa’s martial assurances and Bhīṣma’s strategic rebuttal in the Kuru assembly
एवं ब्रुवन्तं तमुवाच भीष्म: कि कत्थसे कालपरीतबुद्धे न कर्ण जानासि यथा प्रधाने हते हताः स्युर्धुतराष्ट्रपुत्रा:
evaṁ bruvantaṁ tam uvāca bhīṣmaḥ | kiṁ katthase kālaparītabuddhe | na karṇa jānāsi yathā pradhāne hate hatāḥ syur dhṛtarāṣṭraputrāḥ ||
কর্ণ এভাবে বলতেই ভীষ্ম তাকে বললেন—“হে কর্ণ, কালগ্রস্ত বুদ্ধিসম্পন্ন! কেন এমন দম্ভ করছ? তুমি কি জান না—যুদ্ধে প্রধান বীর নিহত হলে ধৃতরাষ্ট্রের পুত্রেরা প্রায় মৃতসম হয়ে পড়ে?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns against boastful pride and shortsighted bravado in matters of war. Ethical leadership requires recognizing interdependence: the fall of a key protector can doom the entire side, so speech and strategy must be grounded in responsibility rather than ego.
Karṇa has been speaking assertively, and Bhīṣma responds sharply. He calls Karṇa’s boasting a sign that ‘Time’ has clouded his judgment and reminds him that if the principal champion is killed, the Kauravas (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons) will effectively be destroyed.