Shloka 16
कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall
Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra
मन्ये कालमपयानस्य राजन् क्रूरात् कर्णात् तेडहमचिन्त्यकर्मन् । अचिन्त्यकर्मा नरेश्वर! जबतक सूतपुत्रने हमलोगोंको नहीं देखा था
arjuna uvāca | manye kālam apayānasya rājan krūrāt karṇāt te 'ham acintyakarman | mayā karṇasyāstram idaṃ purastād yuddhe dṛṣṭaṃ pāṇḍava citrarūpam ||
Arjuna said: “O King, I consider your withdrawal from the presence of the ruthless Karṇa to be timely. For I have witnessed, earlier in battle, this wondrous and formidable weapon of Karṇa, O Pāṇḍava. Hearing that he had already fixed his gaze upon you and even fought with you—and that before that Aśvatthāmā had grievously wounded you—your departure from before cruel-deeded Karṇa appears to me the prudent course. In war, discretion that preserves the king and the cause is itself a form of dharma.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames timely withdrawal as dharmic prudence in war: protecting the king and preserving the larger cause can be ethically superior to reckless valor, especially when facing a known, extraordinary threat (Karṇa’s formidable astra).
Arjuna addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, judging his retreat from Karṇa as appropriate. Arjuna recalls having previously seen Karṇa’s powerful weapon in battle and notes that Yudhiṣṭhira had already been engaged by Karṇa and earlier injured by Aśvatthāmā, making withdrawal strategically sensible.