Shloka 48
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
तमब्रवीत्तत: कर्णो व्यर्थ व्याहृतवानसि । वदेदानीं पुनर्हष्टो वध्यमान: पुन: पुन:
tam abravīt tataḥ karṇo vyarthaṁ vyāhṛtavān asi | vadedānīṁ punar hṛṣṭo vadhyamānaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Karṇa spoke to Nakula, “You have spoken in vain, boasting without cause. Now, as you are struck down again and again by my arrows, speak those same words once more—if you can—with the same confidence. From today, do not engage in battle with the mighty Kaurava warriors. Dear boy, fight only those who are your equals. Son of Mādrī, do not be ashamed; if you wish, go home, or flee to where Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are.” Having spoken thus, Karṇa spared Nakula and let him go.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts empty boasting with the reality of martial competence, and shows a complex warrior ethic: Karṇa humiliates Nakula verbally yet refrains from killing him, implying a code where victory may be asserted without necessarily taking life, and where one is urged to measure oneself against equals.
During the battle, Karṇa overpowers Nakula with repeated arrow-strikes, rebukes him for earlier bravado, advises him to avoid stronger Kaurava champions and to seek safety near Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, and then releases him instead of finishing him.