Shloka 6
Chapter 61: Karṇa’s martial assurances and Bhīṣma’s strategic rebuttal in the Kuru assembly
पितामहस्तिष्ठतु ते समीपे द्रोणश्न सर्वे च नरेन्द्रमुख्या: । यथा प्रधानेन बलेन गत्वा पार्थान् हनिष्यामि ममैष भार:
pitāmahas tiṣṭhatu te samīpe droṇaś ca sarve ca narendramukhyāḥ | yathā pradhānena balena gatvā pārthān haniṣyāmi mama eṣa bhāraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Let the Grandsire remain close by you; let Droṇa and all the foremost kings also stay at your side. As for me, I shall go with my principal force and slay the Pārthas by myself. Let this entire burden rest upon me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial confidence and strategic bravado can lead one to claim total responsibility for violent outcomes. Ethically, it foregrounds the idea of “bhāra” (burden): taking ownership of an action also means bearing its moral consequences, not merely its tactical risks.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) urges that Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and the leading kings remain close to the main leader, while he himself proposes to advance with the principal troops and kill the Pāṇḍavas, declaring that the entire burden of this undertaking is his.