Shloka 51

Devanagari script

कृष्णौ च पुरुषव्यात्र ततः सत्यं ब्रवीमि ते । नाहत्वा युधि तौ वीरौ व्यपयास्थे कथंचन

Transliteration

kṛṣṇau ca puruṣavyātra tataḥ satyaṃ bravīmi te | nāhatvā yudhi tau vīrau vyapayāsthe kathaṃcana ||

Translation

Karna sprach: „O Tiger unter den Menschen, ich sage dir die Wahrheit: Solange ich nicht auf dem Schlachtfeld jene beiden Helden — Kṛṣṇa und Arjuna — erschlagen habe, werde ich auf keine Weise zurückweichen.“

Word by Word

• कृष्णौ: Krishna (as one of the two)
• कृष्णौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पुरुषव्याघ्र: O tiger among men
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषव्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ततः: therefore/then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ब्रवीमि: I say/speak
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Dative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आहत्वा: having slain/killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), आ

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• तौ: those two (them)
• तौ: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• वीरौ: two heroes
• वीरौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• व्यपयास्थे: I will withdraw/stand back
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था
• Form: Perfect, First, Singular, Atmanepada, व्यप-

• कथंचन: in any way/at all
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन

• पुरुषसिंह: O lion among men
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषसिंह
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Kṛṣṇa
• Arjuna
• puruṣavyātra (addressed person, unspecified in the given excerpt)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karna presents steadfastness in one’s declared truth (satya) and commitment to warrior-duty as binding: once he has set his aim in battle, he treats retreat as ethically unacceptable until that aim is met.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Karṇa Parva’s battle sequence, Karna addresses a warrior as “tiger among men” and declares a firm resolve: he will not turn back from the fight unless he kills the two central opponents named here—Kṛṣṇa (as Arjuna’s charioteer and strategist) and Arjuna (his chief rival).