Shloka 16
अद्य कुन्तीसुतस्याहं दृढं राज्ञ: प्रजागरम् व्यपनेष्यामि गोविन्द हत्वा कर्ण शितै: शरै:
adya kuntīsutasyāhaṁ dṛḍhaṁ rājñaḥ prajāgaram vyapaneṣyāmi govinda hatvā karṇaṁ śitaiḥ śaraiḥ
Sañjaya sprach: „O Govinda, heute werde ich, indem ich Karṇa mit meinen scharfen Pfeilen erschlage, dem König — Kuntīs Sohn — das quälende, aus Sorge geborene Wachliegen endgültig nehmen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war is portrayed as addressing not only external enemies but also inner suffering: the king’s anxiety-driven sleeplessness is imagined as a ‘disease’ to be cured through decisive action. It raises an ethical tension typical of the epic—seeking relief and restoration of order through violence, while implying that leadership carries heavy psychological and moral burdens.
In the Karna Parva battle context, the speaker declares to Govinda (Kṛṣṇa) a resolve to kill Karna with sharp arrows, claiming that this will end Yudhiṣṭhira’s persistent anxious wakefulness. The statement connects Karna’s continued presence as a threat with the Pandava king’s ongoing distress.