Shloka 6
राधेयो वाप्याधिरथि: कर्ण: किमकरोद् युधि । पुत्रा वा मम दुर्धर्षा राजानो वा महारथा: । एतनमे सर्वमाचक्ष्व कुशलो हासि संजय
sañjaya uvāca |
rādheyo vāpy ādhirathiḥ karṇaḥ kim akarod yudhi |
putrā vā mama durdharṣā rājāno vā mahārathāḥ |
etan me sarvam ācakṣva kuśalo hāsi sañjaya ||
Sañjaya said: “Tell me—what did Rādheya, the son of Adhiratha, Karṇa, do in the battle? And what of my sons, so hard to assail, and the kings who are great chariot-warriors? Relate all of this to me in full, O Sañjaya—may you be well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war-reporting: a ruler’s attachment to ‘my sons’ and to celebrated champions like Karṇa drives anxious inquiry, while the narrator’s duty is truthful, complete reporting. It also underscores how identity in the epic is layered—Karṇa is named through foster-lineage (Rādheya, Ādhirathi), reminding readers that social identity and ethical judgment often intertwine.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing the ongoing account of the Kurukṣetra war, presses Sañjaya to describe in detail what Karṇa did in battle and how the Kaurava princes and allied great kings fared. Sañjaya is addressed as the reliable eyewitness-reporter, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra expresses concern for the outcome.