Shloka 3
कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः
Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana
स्नेहस्त्वया पार्थ कृत: पृथाया गर्भ समाविश्य यथा न साधु । त्यक्त्वा रणे यदपाया: स भीम॑ यज्ञाशक: सूतपुत्र निहन्तुम्
snehastvayā pārtha kṛtaḥ pṛthāyā garbha samāviśya yathā na sādhu | tyaktvā raṇe yadapāyāḥ sa bhīmaṁ yajāśakaḥ sūtaputraṁ nihantum ||
Sañjaya said: “O Pārtha, the ‘affection’ you showed—though you yourself entered the womb of Pṛthā (Kuntī) and were born as her son—cannot be called commendable. For when you found yourself unable to slay Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, you withdrew from the battlefield, leaving Bhīmasena there alone.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral critique: kinship and claimed loyalty are hollow if one abandons comrades in crisis. In a dharma-yuddha context, a warrior’s duty includes steadfastness—especially not deserting an ally on the battlefield when one’s own objective (slaying the chief foe) fails.
Sañjaya reports a reproach directed at Arjuna: despite being Kuntī’s son (hence bound by familial duty), Arjuna is accused of retreating from the fight after failing to kill Karṇa, leaving Bhīma to face the battle alone.