Shloka 21
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare
युधिष्ठिरं च भीम॑ं च यमौ चैवार्जुनादते । अर्जुनेन समं॑ युद्धमपि यौधिष्िरे बले
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ ca bhīmaṃ ca yamau caivārjunād ṛte | arjunena samaṃ yuddham api yudhiṣṭhire bale ||
Karna said: “Except for Arjuna, I will not strike down Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, or the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva—even if, in the press of battle, I find them within my power and fit to be slain. My true combat will be with Arjuna alone, even while he stands within Yudhiṣṭhira’s host.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, a warrior may bind himself by ethical restraint and personal vows: Karna limits his violence to a single rival (Arjuna), presenting honor and self-imposed dharma as governing conduct amid battlefield power.
Karna declares that, though he may encounter Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, and the twins in vulnerable positions during the coming war, he will not kill them; his decisive fight will be only with Arjuna, even within Yudhiṣṭhira’s forces.