Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कॉल्लोकांस्तु गमिष्यामि कृत्वा कर्म सुदुष्करम्‌ | अघातयं च यत्‌ कर्ण समरेष्वपलायिनम्‌

Transliteration

kāllokāṁstu gamiṣyāmi kṛtvā karma suduṣkaram | aghātayaṁ ca yat karṇa samareṣvapalāyinam ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “I shall go to the worlds of death, having done a deed most difficult and grievous—for I caused Karṇa, who never fled from battle, to be slain in the wars.”

Word by Word

कःwho?

लोकान्worlds

तुbut/indeed

गमिष्यामिI shall go

कृत्वाhaving done

कर्मa deed

सुदुष्करम्very difficult (to do)

अघातयम्I caused to be slain / I slew

चand

यत्which/that (deed)

कर्णO Karna

समरेषुin battles

अपलायिनम्one who does not flee

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Karṇa

Kāla (Death)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moral accountability after violence: even when war is fought under kṣatriya-duty, the mind may still confront remorse for causing the death of a noble, steadfast opponent. It frames ethical reflection as inseparable from action and its consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira laments the outcomes of the war. Here he confesses that he feels destined for the realms of Death because he was a cause in Karṇa’s killing—praising Karṇa’s unwavering bravery (‘one who did not flee in battle’) while expressing personal guilt.