Shloka 34
कर्णको इन्द्रका शक्ति-दान युधिष्ठिर और बगुलारूपधारी यक्ष कर्ण उवाच संशयं परमं प्राप्प विमोक्ष्ये वासवीमिमाम् । यथा मामात्थ शक्र त्वं सत्यमेतद् ब्रवीमि ते,कर्ण बोला--देवेन्द्र! आप जैसा मुझसे कह रहे हैं, उसके अनुसार प्राणसंकटकी अवस्थामें पड़कर ही मैं आपकी दी हुई इस शक्तिका उपयोग करूँगा, यह मैं आपसे सच्ची बात कहता हूँ
karṇa uvāca — saṁśayaṁ paramaṁ prāpya vimokṣye vāsavīm imām | yathā mām āttha śakra tvaṁ satyam etad bravīmi te ||
Karna said: “O Śakra (Indra), just as you have instructed me, I tell you truthfully: I will employ the Vāsavī-weapon you have given only when I am driven into a life-threatening crisis.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid strategic advantage and divine gifts, one should bind oneself to truth and restraint: power is to be used only under justifying necessity, and a spoken commitment (satya) is treated as morally binding.
Karna addresses Indra (Śakra), referring to the Indra-given Vāsavī-śakti. He affirms, truthfully, that he will discharge this weapon only when he is in extreme peril, aligning his use of a decisive divine missile with a condition set in their exchange.