Shloka 6

Devanagari script

बिभेमि न तथा मृत्योर्यथा बिभ्येडनृतादहम्‌ । विशेषेण द्विजातीनां सर्वेषां सर्वदा सताम्‌

Transliteration

bibhemi na tathā mṛtyor yathā bibhyed anṛtād aham | viśeṣeṇa dvijātīnāṃ sarveṣāṃ sarvadā satām ||

Translation

Karna sprach: „Den Tod fürchte ich nicht so sehr wie die Unwahrheit. Vor allem aber scheue ich mich, vor den stets rechtschaffenen Zweimalgeborenen eine Lüge auszusprechen.“

Word by Word

बिभेमिI fear

नnot

तथाso; in that manner

मृत्योःof death

यथाas; just as

बिभ्येI have feared / I fear (intensely)

अनृतात्from falsehood; of untruth

अहम्I

विशेषेणespecially; in particular

द्विजातीनाम्of the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)

सर्वेषाम्of all

सर्वदाalways

सताम्of the good/virtuous

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

dvijāti (the twice-born, especially Brahmins)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness (satya) is presented as a higher ethical fear than physical death: a noble person should dread moral downfall—especially lying before the righteous—more than bodily destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vana Parva, Karna speaks about his inner code of conduct, declaring that the shame and sin of untruth—particularly in the presence of virtuous twice-born elders—terrifies him more than the prospect of dying.