Shloka 68
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
हितं चैव यथास्माकं तथैतद् वचनं तव । अर्जुन बोले--प्रभो! कोई बहुत बड़ा विद्वान् और परम बुद्धिमान् मनुष्य जैसा उपदेश दे सकता है तथा जिसके अनुसार आचरण करनेसे हमलोगोंका हित हो सकता है, वैसा ही आपका यह भाषण हुआ है ।। भवान् मातृसमो<स्माकं तथा पितृसमो5पि च
hitaṃ caiva yathāsmākaṃ tathaitad vacanaṃ tava | arjuna uvāca—prabho! ko'pi bahu-vidvān parama-buddhimān manuṣyo yathā upadeśaṃ dātuṃ śaknoti tathā, yasya anusāreṇa ācaraṇena asmākaṃ hitaṃ bhavet, tādṛśam eva idaṃ bhavato bhāṣaṇaṃ jātam || bhavān mātṛ-samo'smākaṃ tathā pitṛ-samo'pi ca ||
Arjuna said: “Your words are truly for our welfare. This speech of yours is like the counsel that a great scholar and supremely wise person would give—guidance by which, if we live accordingly, our good is secured. Indeed, to us you are like a mother, and also like a father.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wise counsel is measured by its capacity to produce genuine welfare (hita) when followed in conduct; Arjuna models humility and gratitude by acknowledging guidance as parental—nurturing and protective—rather than merely strategic.
In the midst of the Karṇa-parvan war narrative, Arjuna responds to a respected speaker’s instruction, affirming that the advice is truly beneficial and honoring the adviser as both mother-like and father-like, emphasizing trust and moral authority.