Shloka 36
Sūrya’s Counsel to Karṇa on Indra’s Intended Request
Kuṇḍala–Kavaca Discourse
'क्या मैं युद्धमें शत्रुओंको मारकर जनकनन्दिनी सीताको साथ ले पुनः अयोध्यामें रहकर राज्य करूँगा? ।। अमोक्षयित्वा वैदेहीमहत्वा च रणे रिपून् । ह्ृतदारोडवधूतश्न नाहं जीवितुमुत्सहे,“विदेहनन्दिनी सीताको बिना छुड़ाने तथा समरभूमिमें शत्रुओंका बिना संहार किये पत्नीको खोकर और अवधूत बनकर मैं जीवित नहीं रह सकता”
kim ahaṃ yuddhe śatrūn hatvā janakanandinīṃ sītāṃ sārdhaṃ punar ayodhyāyāṃ nivasan rājyaṃ kariṣyāmi? amokṣayitvā vaidehīm ahatvā ca raṇe ripūn hṛtadāro 'vadhūtaś ca nāhaṃ jīvitum utsahe.
«¿Cómo podría yo, tras abatir a mis enemigos en la batalla y recobrar a Sītā, la amada hija de Janaka, volver a Ayodhyā y vivir allí como rey? Mientras no libere a Vaidehī y no destruya a los adversarios en el campo de guerra, no puedo soportar seguir viviendo: privado de mi esposa y reducido a una ruina errante.»
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship as inseparable from dharma: personal happiness and political legitimacy depend on restoring justice—rescuing the wronged (Sītā) and punishing aggressors. It presents steadfast resolve and marital fidelity as ethical imperatives that override comfort or mere survival.
Mārkaṇḍeya recounts a Rāma-centered episode: the speaker (Rāma in the underlying story) declares he cannot return to Ayodhyā to rule unless Sītā is freed and the enemies are defeated. Without accomplishing these aims, he says life itself is unbearable, as he would be a man whose wife has been taken and who is left in a shattered condition.