Shloka 19
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
निहत्य शिष्टान् शत्रूंश्व॒ कर्णस्यानृण्यमाप्रुयाम् । “आज मैं श्रीकृष्ण, अर्जुन, मानी भीमसेन तथा शेष बचे हुए अन्य शत्रुओंका संहार करके कर्णके ऋणसे उऋण हो जाऊँगा” || १८ $ || तच्छुत्वा कुरुराजस्य शूरार्यसदृशं वचः
nihatya śiṣṭān śatrūṁś ca karṇasyānṛṇyam āpruyām | “adya ahaṁ śrīkṛṣṇam arjunam mānī bhīmasenaṁ tathā śeṣa-bhūtān anyān śatrūn saṁhṛtya karṇa-ṛṇāt anṛṇo bhaviṣyāmi” || taczrutvā kuru-rājasya śūrārya-sadṛśaṁ vacaḥ
“Having slain the enemies who remain, I shall discharge my debt to Karṇa. Today I will destroy Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, the proud Bhīmasena, and whatever other foes still survive, and thus be free of what I owe to Karṇa.” Hearing these words of the Kuru king—words befitting a heroic noble—Sañjaya continued his account.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ‘ṛṇa’ (debt/obligation) and honor can become powerful moral drivers in a warrior ethos: the speaker frames continued violence as repayment of loyalty to Karṇa. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between personal obligation and the broader demands of dharma, especially when obligation is pursued through destructive means.
After Karṇa’s fall, the Kuru king (understood as Duryodhana) declares a fierce vow: he will kill the remaining principal opponents—Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Bhīma, and others—to become ‘debtless’ toward Karṇa. Sañjaya reports that, upon hearing this heroic-sounding speech, the narrative proceeds to the next action in the war’s final phase.