Shloka 476
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
संग्रामाद् विमुख: कर्तु धर्मज्ञ इव नास्तिकै: । जैसे सैकड़ों नास्तिक मिलकर भी धर्मज्ञ पुरुषको धर्मसे विचलित नहीं कर सकते, उसी प्रकार तुम्हारे-जैसे सैकड़ों मनुष्योंके द्वारा भी मुझे संग्रामसे विमुख नहीं किया जा सकता, यह निश्चय है
saṅgrāmād vimukhaḥ kartuṁ dharmajña iva nāstikaiḥ | yathā śatair api nāstikair dharmajñaḥ puruṣo dharmād na vicālyate, tathā tvad-vidhaiḥ śatair api manuṣyair māṁ saṅgrāmād vimukhīkartuṁ na śakyam iti niścayaḥ |
Karna declares that he cannot be turned away from the battlefield. Just as even hundreds of unbelievers cannot shake a truly dharma-knowing man from his commitment to dharma, so too—even if there were hundreds of men like you—no one can divert him from the fight. It is his settled resolve to stand firm in war, presenting steadfastness as an ethical constancy rather than mere stubbornness.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfastness in one’s understood dharma: a person who truly knows duty is not easily shaken by contrary voices; Karna frames his commitment to battle as unwavering resolve grounded in his chosen obligation.
In the midst of counsel or attempted dissuasion, Karna responds by asserting that no argument or pressure—even from many people—will turn him away from the battlefield, using an analogy of a dharma-knower unmoved by nāstikas.