Shloka 19
कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter
कमप्यर्थ पुरस्कृत्य न हतौ युधि मारिष | “मान्यवर! इसने महासमरमें शूरवीर नकुल-सहदेवको भी परास्त करके किसी विशेष प्रयोजनको सामने रखकर उन दोनोंको युद्धमें मार नहीं डाला ।। येन वृष्णिप्रवीरस्तु सात्यकि: सात्वतां वर:
kam apy arthaṁ puraskṛtya na hatau yudhi māriṣa | yena vṛṣṇipravīras tu sātyakiḥ sātvatāṁ varaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O venerable sir, keeping some particular purpose in view, he did not slay them in battle, though he had overcome the heroic Nakula and Sahadeva in the great fight. It was by this same restraint and intention that Sātyaki—the foremost hero of the Vṛṣṇis and the best among the Sātvatas—could act likewise.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, victory does not automatically justify killing. A warrior may restrain himself and act with a specific higher aim—strategy, duty, or a principled intention—showing that ethical choice and purpose can govern violent power.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior who had defeated Nakula and Sahadeva nevertheless did not kill them, because he had some particular objective in mind. He then connects this point to Sātyaki, praising him as the foremost Vṛṣṇi hero, implying a similar pattern of purposeful action and restraint.