Shloka 21
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
यदि जानाति मां राजा धर्मात्मा संयतेन्द्रिय: । कुन्त्या: प्रथमजं पुत्र न स राज्यं ग्रहीष्यति
yadi jānāti māṁ rājā dharmātmā saṁyatendriyaḥ | kunyāḥ prathamajaṁ putraṁ na sa rājyaṁ grahīṣyati ||
Karna said: “If the king—righteous in spirit and master of his senses—comes to know that I am Kunti’s firstborn son, then he will not accept the kingdom.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames rightful rule as inseparable from dharma and self-mastery: a truly righteous king, upon learning a morally decisive truth about lineage, would refuse to seize power unjustly. Political action is shown as accountable to ethical knowledge.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and counsels, Karna reflects on the consequences of revealing his birth: if the king learns that Karna is Kunti’s firstborn, the king’s sense of dharma would prevent him from taking or holding the kingdom in a way that violates rightful claims and kinship obligations.