Shloka 179
यदाश्रौषं कर्ण उवाच भीष्म॑ नाहं योत्स्ये युध्यमाने त्वयीति । हित्वा सेनामपचक्राम चापि तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,जब कर्णने भीष्मसे यह बात कह दी कि “जबतक तुम युद्ध करते रहोगे तबतक मैं पाण्डवोंसे नहीं लडूँगा', इतना ही नहीं--वह सेनाको छोड़कर हट गया, संजय! तभीसे मेरे मनमें विजयके लिये कुछ भी आशा नहीं रह गयी
yadāśrauṣaṃ karṇa uvāca bhīṣma na ahaṃ yotsye yudhyamāne tvayi iti | hitvā senām apacakrāma cāpi tadā nāśaṃse vijayāya sañjaya |
When I heard that Karṇa said to Bhīṣma, “So long as you are fighting, I will not fight,” and that he even withdrew, abandoning the army at that time—then, Sañjaya, I no longer held any hope at all for victory. The episode underscores how wounded honor and rivalry within one’s own side can fracture unity and weaken a cause, even before the enemy strikes.
Educational Q&A
Internal discord and wounded pride can undermine even a powerful side; unity of command and mutual respect are ethical and strategic necessities in dharmic leadership, especially in war.
The narrator tells Sañjaya that Karṇa declared to Bhīṣma he would not fight as long as Bhīṣma fought, and even withdrew from the army; hearing this, the speaker loses hope of victory.