Shloka 68
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
“अतः देवश्रेष्ठ प्रभो! आप किसीको सारथि बनाइये। देव! आपने हमें जो वचन दिया है, उसे सफल कीजिये ।। एवमस्मासु हि पुरा भगवन्नुक्तवानसि । हितकर्तास्मि भवतामिति तत् कर्तुमहसि
ataḥ devaśreṣṭha prabho! āpa kisīko sārathi banāiye. deva! āpane hameṃ jo vacana diyā hai, use saphala kījiye. evam asmāsu hi purā bhagavann uktavān asi—hitakartāsmi bhavatām iti; tat kartum arhasi.
Dijo Duryodhana: “Por tanto, oh el más excelso de los dioses, oh Señor, nombra a alguien como auriga. Oh divino, cumple la promesa que antaño nos diste. Pues en otro tiempo nos dijiste: ‘Obraré por vuestro bien’; ahora debes llevarlo a cabo.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a pledged word: Duryodhana invokes a prior assurance—“I will act for your welfare”—and argues that a promise creates an obligation to act. It also shows how appeals to divine authority can be used to legitimize one’s cause, even in a morally contested war.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle context, Duryodhana addresses a revered divine figure, urging him to appoint a charioteer and to make good on an earlier promise of support to the Kauravas. The request is framed as a demand for the fulfillment of a prior commitment.