Shloka 80
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
कर्ण नित्य-निरन्तर युद्धके लिये उद्यत और शत्रुओंके लिये असह्य है। आज रणभूमिमें हार-जीतका जूआ कर्णपर ही अवलम्बित है। कर्णके मारे जानेपर अन्य कौरव शीघ्र ही परास्त हो सकते हैं। धर्मपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिरके मनमें ऐसा ही विचार काम कर रहा था ।।
karṇa nitya-nirantara yuddhake liye udyata aura śatrūoṃ ke liye asahya hai | āja raṇabhūmi meṃ hāra-jīta kā jūā karṇapar hī avalambita hai | karṇake māre jānepara anya kaurava śīghra hī parājita ho sakate haiṃ | dharmaputra rājā yudhiṣṭhirake manameṃ aisā hī vicāra kāma kara rahā thā || tato vadha nārhati dharmaputras tvayā pratijñārjuna pālanīyā | jīvann ayaṃ yena mṛto bhaved dhi tan me nibodheha tavānurūpam, arjuna! ||
Vāyu berkata: “Karna senantiasa siap untuk perang tanpa putus dan tak tertahankan bagi musuh-musuhnya. Hari ini, di medan laga, taruhan menang dan kalah bertumpu pada Karna semata. Bila Karna terbunuh, para Kaurawa lainnya dapat segera ditundukkan. Pikiran demikian bekerja dalam benak Raja Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira. Karena itu Dharmaputra tidak patut dibunuh; namun engkau, Arjuna, harus menepati sumpahmu. Maka dengarkan dariku suatu cara agar ia tetap hidup namun menjadi seperti orang mati—cara yang sesuai bagimu, Arjuna.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage balances two moral imperatives: restraint from unjust killing (Yudhiṣṭhira is ‘not fit to be slain’) and fidelity to one’s vow (Arjuna must keep his pledge). It introduces the idea of an ethical ‘upāya’—a strategy that avoids direct wrongdoing while still honoring duty.
Vāyudeva explains that Karna is the linchpin of the Kaurava war effort; if Karna falls, the Kauravas may collapse quickly. He notes that Yudhiṣṭhira is thinking along these lines. Then Vāyu advises Arjuna: do not kill Yudhiṣṭhira, yet fulfill your vow by adopting a means that leaves Yudhiṣṭhira alive but socially/psychologically ‘as good as dead’—a severe non-lethal outcome.