भीष्मद्रोणावतिक्रम्य धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर: । नान्यतो भयमादत्त विना कर्णान्महारथात्,भीष्म और द्रोणसे पार पाकर धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको अब महारथी कर्णके सिवा दूसरे किसीसे भय नहीं रह गया है
sañjaya uvāca |
bhīṣma-droṇāv atikramya dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
nānyato bhayam ādatta vinā karṇān mahārathāt ||
Sañjaya said: Having passed beyond Bhīṣma and Droṇa, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira no longer took fear from any other quarter—except from Karṇa, the great chariot-warrior.
संजय उवाच
Even in a dharmic cause, leadership must realistically assess the greatest remaining threat. The verse frames fear not as weakness but as prudent recognition of exceptional power—after the fall of the senior champions, Karṇa becomes the concentrated locus of danger to Yudhiṣṭhira and his righteous campaign.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira, having effectively moved past the era of facing Bhīṣma and Droṇa as principal obstacles, now regards only Karṇa as the major source of fear on the battlefield, implying Karṇa’s rise as the foremost opposing warrior.