Shloka 17
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
श्रीकृष्णने कहा--पार्थ! इस समय मैं समझता हूँ कि तुमने वृद्ध पुरुषोंकी सेवा नहीं की है। पुरुषसिंह! इसीलिये तुम्हें बिना अवसरके ही क्रोध आ गया है ।।
śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca—pārtha! etat kāle ’haṃ manye tvayā vṛddhapuruṣāṇāṃ sevā na kṛtā; puruṣasiṃha! tasmāt tavānupapannam eva krodha āgataḥ. na hi dharmavibhāgajñaḥ kuryād evaṃ dhanaṃjaya, yathā tvam iha adya pāṇḍavādya dharmabhīrur apāṇḍitaḥ. pāṇḍuputra dhanaṃjaya! yo dharmasya vibhāgaṃ jānāti sa kadācit tādṛśaṃ na kuryāt, yathā tvam adya kartum icchasi; satyam eva tvam dharmabhīruḥ san buddhihīnaś ca.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa sprach: „Pārtha! In diesem Augenblick meine ich, du habest den Ältesten nicht gedient und nicht von ihnen gelernt. O Löwe unter den Menschen, darum hat dich der Zorn ohne rechten Anlass gepackt. Wer die Unterscheidungen des Dharma wahrhaft kennt, würde niemals so handeln, wie du heute hier handeln willst, Dhanañjaya. Sohn des Pāṇḍu, du fürchtest den Dharma, und doch handelst du ohne Urteilskraft.“
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa stresses that true knowledge of dharma requires discrimination (vibhāga) and training under elders; impulsive anger and rash intent are signs of insufficient ethical discernment, even if one claims to fear wrongdoing.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle context, Kṛṣṇa rebukes Arjuna for an untimely surge of anger and for contemplating an action Kṛṣṇa deems inconsistent with dharma, attributing this lapse to lack of guidance gained through serving elders.