Shloka 27
कोपिता: पाण्डवा नित्यं समाश्रित्य सुयोधनम् । जैसे वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनकी सहायताके लिये दृढ़प्रतिज्ञ हैं, उसी प्रकार मेरे धन, शरीर, स्त्री, पुत्र तथा यश सब कुछ दुर्योधनके लिये निछावर हैं। यज्ञोंमें प्रचुर दक्षिणा देनेवाले कुरुनन्दन भीष्म! मैंने दुर्योधनका आश्रय लेकर पाण्डवोंका क्रोध सदा इसलिये बढ़ाया है कि यह क्षत्रिय-जाति रोगोंका शिकार होकर न मरे (युद्धमें वीर गति प्राप्त करे) ।। अवश्यभावी हार्थोड्यं यो न शक्यो निवर्तितुम्
kopitāḥ pāṇḍavā nityaṃ samāśritya suyodhanam | yathā vasudevanandanaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ pāṇḍuputrārjunasya sahāyatāyai dṛḍhapratijñaḥ, tathā mama dhanaṃ śarīraṃ strī putrāś ca yaśaś ca sarvaṃ duryodhanāya niṣṭhāpitam | yajñeṣu pracuradakṣiṇādāyin kurunandana bhīṣma! ahaṃ duryodhanam āśritya pāṇḍavānāṃ krodhaṃ nityaṃ tasmād vardhayāmi yathā kṣatriyajātiḥ rogair na mriyeta, api tu yuddhe vīragatiṃ prāpnoti || avaśyabhāvī hārthodyaṃ yo na śakyo nivartitum ||
Karna said: “By taking refuge in Suyodhana (Duryodhana), I have continually provoked the Pandavas’ anger. Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, stands with unshakable resolve to aid Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu, so too my wealth, my body, my wife, my sons, and my very fame—everything—is offered up for Duryodhana. O Bhīṣma, delight of the Kurus, famed for granting abundant sacrificial gifts: I have chosen Duryodhana as my support and thus keep the Pandavas’ wrath ever kindled, so that the kṣatriya order may not perish as if consumed by disease, but instead attain a hero’s end in battle. For what is destined to occur cannot be turned back.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames kṣatriya-ethics as a commitment to decisive action and honor in battle, even at personal cost. Karna presents unwavering loyalty and vowed support as virtues, while also invoking destiny—what is fated cannot be averted—thereby highlighting the tension between moral agency and perceived inevitability.
Karna addresses Bhīṣma, declaring that he has aligned himself with Duryodhana and deliberately sustained the Pandavas’ anger to drive the conflict toward open war. He compares his own dedication to Duryodhana with Kṛṣṇa’s steadfast support of Arjuna, emphasizing total self-offering—wealth, body, family, and reputation—for his chosen ally.