Shloka 18
अद्यार्जुनं सगोविन्दं मानिनं च वृकोदरम् । हन्यां शिष्टांस्तथा शत्रून् कर्णस्यानृण्यमाप्नुयाम्,“आज मैं अर्जुन, श्रीकृष्ण और उस घमंडी भीमसेनको तथा बचे-खुचे दूसरे शत्रुओंको भी मार डालूँ, तभी कर्णके ऋणसे मुक्त हो सकता हूँ”
adyārjunaṁ sagovindaṁ māninaṁ ca vṛkodaram | hanyāṁ śiṣṭāṁs tathā śatrūn karṇasyānṛṇyam āpnuyām ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Heute werde ich Arjuna samt Govinda (Krishna) erschlagen, ebenso den stolzen Vṛkodara (Bhima) und auch die übrigen Feinde, die noch verbleiben; erst dann kann ich mich von meiner Schuld gegenüber Karna lösen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the powerful pull of ṛṇa (debt/obligation) and loyalty in a warrior ethos: the speaker frames extreme violence as a means to become “debt-free” to Karna, showing how personal obligation can override broader ethical restraint and intensify the drive for total victory.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra war, Sanjaya reports a vow-like resolve: to kill Arjuna along with Krishna, and also Bhima and the remaining foes, claiming that only by such decisive slaughter could one repay or discharge what is owed to Karna.