Shloka 3
कि नु तज्जपतां श्रेष्ठ कर्ण प्रति महद् भयम् । आसीज्न च स धर्मात्मा कथयामास कस्यचित्
ki nu taj japatāṃ śreṣṭha karṇa prati mahad bhayam | āsīj na ca sa dharmātmā kathayāmāsa kasyacit ||
Janamejaya fragte: „O Bester unter den Rezitatoren der heiligen Überlieferung, was war jene große Furcht in Bezug auf Karṇa? Und weshalb offenbarte jener Rechtschaffene sie niemandem?“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint and discernment in speech: even a dharmic person may withhold grave information when disclosure could be improper, harmful, or untimely, prompting reflection on when truth should be spoken and when silence serves dharma.
In the frame dialogue, King Janamejaya questions the narrator about a previously mentioned “great fear” connected to Karṇa and asks why a righteous individual kept it undisclosed, setting up an explanation of the background and motives.