Shloka 11
Kṛṣṇasya Karṇam Prati Sāntvavacana
Kṛṣṇa’s Conciliatory Address to Karṇa
अस्ति मे बलमित्येव सहसा त्वं तितीर्षसि । सग्राहनक्रमकरं गज्रावेगमिवोष्णगे,जैसे कोई अविवेकी मनुष्य वर्षाकालमें बढ़े हुए ग्राह और मकर आदि जलजन्तुओंसे युक्त गंगाजीके वेगको दोनों बाहुओंसे तैरना चाहता हो, उसी प्रकार तुम मेरे पास बल है, ऐसा समझकर पाण्डव-सेनाको सहसा लाँघ जानेकी इच्छा रखते हो
asti me balam ity eva sahasā tvaṁ titīrṣasi | sa-grāha-nakra-makaraṁ gaṅgā-vegam ivōṣṇage ||
Bhīṣma said: “Merely thinking, ‘I have strength,’ you rashly wish to cross over. It is like a foolish man in the rainy season trying to swim across the rushing Gaṅgā—teeming with crocodiles, gharials, and makaras—using only his two arms. In the same way, trusting only in your own power, you desire to overleap the Pāṇḍava host in sudden haste.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns against overconfidence and impulsive action: mere belief in one’s strength is not enough when facing overwhelming danger. Ethical leadership requires sober assessment, restraint, and respect for realities rather than pride-driven haste.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war counsel, Bhīṣma addresses a warrior’s rash intention to break through the Pāṇḍava forces. He illustrates the folly with a vivid simile: trying to swim the monsoon-swollen Gaṅgā filled with deadly aquatic beasts—an act likely to end in ruin.