Shloka 86
काकोपमोपदेशः
The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa
युधिष्ठिरस्याभिमुखं प्रेषयामास संयुगे । राजा दुर्योधनसे इस प्रकार प्रेरित होकर सारथिने उस उत्तम रथको राजा युधिष्ठिरके सामने बढ़ाया
yudhiṣṭhirasyābhimukhaṃ preṣayāmāsa saṃyuge | rājā duryodhanas tasya prakāraṃ prerito 'tha sārathinā tam uttamaṃ rathaṃ rājñaḥ yudhiṣṭhirasya sammukhaṃ vardhayāmāsa |
Sañjaya dit : Au plus fort de la mêlée, le roi Duryodhana ordonna que le char fût mené droit sur Yudhiṣṭhira. Ainsi poussé, il fit avancer par son cocher ce char d’élite pour lui faire face—signe d’une confrontation voulue et d’une résolution qui se durcit sous l’épreuve morale de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how decisive leadership in war can intensify direct confrontation; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between kṣatriya resolve and the moral cost of escalating violence.
Duryodhana orders his charioteer to drive the chariot straight toward Yudhiṣṭhira, setting up a face-to-face engagement in the ongoing battle.