Shloka 20
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare
न च ते5यं समारम्भो मयि मोघो भविष्यति । वध्यान् विषदह्ाान् संग्रामे न हनिष्यामि ते सुतान्
na ca te 'yaṃ samārambho mayi mogho bhaviṣyati | vadhyān viṣadagdḥān saṅgrāme na haniṣyāmi te sutān |
Nor will your undertaking in coming to me prove fruitless. Even if, in the battle, I find your sons within my power and in a condition fit to be slain, I will not kill them. My combat will be with Arjuna alone; the others—Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Nakula, and Sahadeva—shall be spared. Thus I acknowledge your effort and bind myself to a restraint amid war, setting a limit to violence even when victory would permit more.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a righteous war, ethical restraint can be chosen: Karṇa limits his violence by vowing not to kill Kuntī’s sons other than Arjuna, showing that personal vows and familial obligations can shape conduct amid conflict.
Kuntī approaches Karṇa before the Kurukṣetra war and appeals to him as her son. Karṇa refuses to abandon his allegiance, but he assures her that her effort will not be wasted: he will fight Arjuna, yet spare Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Nakula, and Sahadeva even if he gains the chance to kill them.