Shloka 6
Kṛpa’s Archery Display; Śikhaṇḍin Checked; Suketu Slain; Dhṛṣṭadyumna–Kṛtavarmā Clash (कृपशौर्य–पार्षतहार्दिक्ययुद्धम्)
अप्रार्थितं प्रार्थयसे सुह्ददो न हि सन्ति ते । ये त्वां न वारयन्त्याशु प्रपतन्तं हुताशने,तुम ऐसी चीज चाहते हो, जिसकी अबतक किसीने इच्छा नहीं की थी। जान पड़ता है तुम्हारे कोई सुहृद् नहीं हैं, जो शीघ्र ही आकर तुम्हें चलती आगमें गिरनेसे रोक नहीं रहे हैं
aprārthitaṁ prārthayase suhr̥do na hi santi te | ye tvāṁ na vārayantyāśu prapatantaṁ hutāśane ||
Śalya said: “You are asking for what no one has sought before. It seems you have no true well-wishers—those who would quickly restrain you as you rush headlong into the fire.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A true friend restrains one from self-destructive choices; seeking what is improper or unprecedented can be like rushing into fire, and the absence of corrective counsel signals a lack of genuine well-wishers.
Śalya rebukes the addressee (in context, Karṇa) for making a perilous request and uses the metaphor of plunging into fire to warn that no real friends are stopping him from a ruinous course.