Shloka 5
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
तस्मात् पार्थविनाशार्थ हितार्थ मम चैव हि | सारथ्य॑ रथिनां श्रेष्ठ प्रणयात् कर्तुमहसि,'शत्रुपक्षका विनाश करनेवाले, अनुपम शक्तिशाली, रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ मद्रराज! मैं मस्तक झुकाकर विनयपूर्वक आपसे यह याचना करता हूँ कि आप अर्जुनके विनाश और मेरे हितके लिये प्रेमपूर्वक कर्णका सारथ्य कीजिये
tasmāt pārtha-vināśārthaṁ hitārthaṁ mama caiva hi | sārathyaṁ rathināṁ śreṣṭha praṇayāt kartum arhasi ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ainsi, pour la ruine de Pārtha (Arjuna) et aussi pour mon propre avantage, ô le meilleur des combattants en char, tu dois—par affection—assumer la charge d’aurige.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how affection and loyalty (praṇaya) can be invoked to justify strategic action in war, even when the aim is another’s destruction. It implicitly raises an ethical tension: personal welfare and factional success are presented as sufficient grounds for service, showing how dharma can be rhetorically bent under the pressures of conflict.
Sañjaya addresses a foremost chariot-warrior, urging him to take up the role of charioteer in order to help bring about Arjuna’s defeat and to secure Sañjaya’s (or his side’s) advantage. The request underscores the importance of expert charioteering as a decisive factor in battlefield outcomes.