Shloka 19

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare

Devanagari script

आनृशंस्यमथो वृत्तं रक्षन्‌ सत्पुरुषोचितम्‌ । अतोडर्थकरमप्येतन्न करोम्यद्य ते वच:,परंतु उस दशामें भी दयालुता तथा सज्जनोचित सदाचारकी रक्षा करता रहूँगा। इसीलिये लाभदायक होते हुए भी तुम्हारे इस आदेशको आज मैं नहीं मानूँगा

Transliteration

ānṛśaṁsyam atho vṛttaṁ rakṣan satpuruṣocitam | ato ’rthakaram apy etan na karomy adya te vacaḥ ||

Translation

Namun, bahkan dalam keadaan demikian, aku akan menjunjung welas asih dan menjaga laku yang patut bagi insan mulia. Karena itu, meski perintahmu menguntungkan, hari ini aku tidak akan melaksanakannya.

Word by Word

• {'ānṛśaṁsya': 'non-cruelty

• kindness', 'atho': 'and then

• moreover', 'vṛtta': 'conduct

• established practice', 'rakṣan': 'protecting

• maintaining', 'satpuruṣa-ucita': 'befitting a good/noble person', 'ataḥ': 'therefore

• for this reason', 'artha-kara': 'benefit-producing

• profitable', 'api': 'even

• although', 'etat': 'this', 'na karomi': 'I do not do

• I will not perform', 'adya': 'today

• now', 'te': 'your', 'vacaḥ': 'words

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfast adherence to compassionate, noble conduct (ānṛśaṁsya and satpuruṣocita vṛtta) even when disobedience may forfeit practical advantage; ethical integrity is placed above expediency.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna responds to an instruction addressed to him, stating that despite the potential benefit of complying, he will not follow it at this moment because he is committed to preserving compassion and the standards of behavior expected of a noble person.