Shloka 19
अर्जुन-कर्ण-सङ्ग्रामः
Arjuna–Karna Engagement in the Cattle-Raid Aftermath
एकान्ते पार्थमासीनं कूपेडग्निमिव संवृतम् । अज्ञानादभ्यवस्कन्दध्य प्राप्ता: स््मो भयमुत्तमम्
ekānte pārtham āsīnaṁ kūpe 'gnim iva saṁvṛtam | ajñānād abhyavaskandhya prāptāḥ smo bhayam uttamam ||
Kṛpa said: “We have, in ignorance, rushed upon Pārtha (Arjuna) who sits here in seclusion—covered over like fire hidden in a well. Thus we have brought upon ourselves the greatest fear. After keeping them in the forest for thirteen years and dealing with them deceitfully, now that they are freed from the bonds of their vow, will they not destroy us like a lion released from its fetters?”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Deceit and unjust conduct create moral and strategic peril: when one wrongs the righteous and then confronts them after their restraint ends, fear and consequences naturally follow. The simile of “fire hidden in a well” warns that suppressed power and rightful anger can be underestimated until it suddenly blazes forth.
Kṛpa recognizes that the Kaurava side has unknowingly come upon Arjuna in a moment of concealed strength. He recalls their long, deceitful treatment of the Pāṇḍavas during the thirteen-year exile and worries that, now released from their vow’s constraints, the Pāṇḍavas—like an unchained lion—may retaliate and destroy them.