Shloka 3
कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter
यथा देवगणैस्तत्र वृतो यत्नात् पितामहः । तथास्माभिर्भवान् यत्नात् कर्णादभ्यधिको वृत:
yathā devagaṇais tatra vṛto yatnāt pitāmahaḥ | tathāsmābhir bhavān yatnāt karṇād abhyadhiko vṛtaḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “Just as the hosts of gods once chose the Grandsire with earnest effort, so too have we, with special care, chosen you—one deemed even superior to Karṇa—to serve as our charioteer.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how praise and comparison are used to secure loyalty and service in a crisis: Duryodhana elevates the addressee’s status—claiming him superior even to Karṇa—to strengthen commitment to a crucial wartime role (the charioteer), showing the ethical tension between sincere honor and strategic flattery.
In Karṇa Parva, Duryodhana addresses the person appointed as charioteer and emphasizes that the Kauravas selected him with great effort, likening their choice to the gods’ choosing of Pitāmaha (Brahmā). The statement functions as reassurance and inducement before battle.