Shloka 36
उवाच प्राञ्जलिर्भीष्मं बाष्पकण्ठो5श्रुलोचन: । त्वां वयं हि समाश्रित्य संयुगे शत्रुसूदन,इसके बाद नेत्रोंमें आँसू भरकर हाथ जोड़े हुए गदगद कण्ठसे वह भीष्मसे इस प्रकार बोला--“शत्रुसूदन! हमलोग आपका आश्रय लेकर युद्धके मैदानमें इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवताओं तथा असुरोंको भी जीतनेका उत्साह रखते हैं; फिर मित्रों और बान्धवोंसहित वीर पाण्डवोंको जीतना कौन बड़ी बात है। अतः प्रभो! गंगानन्दन! आपको मुझपर कृपा करनी चाहिये। जैसे देवराज इन्द्र दानवोंका संहार करते हैं, उसी प्रकार आप वीर पाण्डवोंको मार डालिये
uvāca prāñjalir bhīṣmaṃ bāṣpa-kaṇṭho ’śru-locanaḥ | tvāṃ vayaṃ hi samāśritya saṃyuge śatru-sūdana ||
With palms joined, his throat choked with tears and his eyes brimming, Karṇa addressed Bhīṣma: “O slayer of foes, relying upon you in this battle, we take heart that we could overcome even the gods with Indra and the asuras—so what great feat would it be to defeat the valiant Pāṇḍavas along with their friends and kinsmen? Therefore, O lord, son of the Gaṅgā, show me favor: as Indra destroys the Dānavas, so should you strike down the heroic Pāṇḍavas.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense emotion and dependence on a powerful leader can fuel moral overconfidence in war: Karṇa’s tearful plea frames victory as assured through Bhīṣma’s might, revealing the ethical tension between devotion/loyalty and the impulse to justify extreme violence against kin.
Karṇa, visibly moved, approaches Bhīṣma with folded hands and asks him to show favor by fighting decisively—comparing Bhīṣma’s expected destruction of the Pāṇḍavas to Indra’s slaying of the Dānavas—thus urging Bhīṣma to take the lead in crushing the opposing side.