Shloka 29
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
प्रतिग्रह तु देवेशस्तुष्टस्तेनास्य कर्मणा । (अहो साहसमित्येवं मनसा वासवो हसन् । देवदानवयक्षाणां गन्धर्वोरगरक्षसाम् ।। न तं पश्यामि को होतत् कर्म कर्ता भविष्यति । प्रीतो5स्मि कर्मणा तेन वरं वृणु यमिच्छसि ।। कवच और कुण्डलोंको लेकर उसके इस कर्मसे संतुष्ट हो इन्द्रने मन-ही-मन हँसते हुए कहा--'अहो! यह तो बड़े साहसका काम है। देवता, दानव, यक्ष, गन्धर्व, नाग और राक्षस --इनमेंसे किसीको भी मैं ऐसा साहसी नहीं देखता। भला, कौन ऐसा कार्य कर सकता है।' यों कहकर वे स्पष्ट वाणीमें बोले--“वीर! मैं तुम्हारे इस कर्मसे प्रसन्न हूँ, इसलिये तुम जो चाहो, वही वर मुझसे माँग लो।' कर्ण उवाच इच्छामि भगवहत्तां शक्तिं शत्रुनिबर्हणीम् ।) कर्णने कहा--भगवन्! मैं आपकी दी हुई वह अमोघ बरछी चाहता हूँ, जो शत्रुओंका संहार करनेवाली है। वैशग्पायन उवाच ददौ शक्ति सुरपतिर्वाक्यं चेदमुवाच ह,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--तब देवराज इन्द्रने बदलेमें उसे अपनी ओरसे एक बरछी प्रदान की और कहा--
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: pratigrahaṁ tu deveśas tuṣṭas tenāsya karmaṇā | (aho sāhasam ity evaṁ manasā vāsavo hasan | devadānavayakṣāṇāṁ gandharvoragarakṣasām || na taṁ paśyāmi ko hotat karma kartā bhaviṣyati | prīto ’smi karmaṇā tena varaṁ vṛṇu yam icchasi ||) Karṇa uvāca: icchāmi bhagavan tāṁ śaktiṁ śatrunibarhaṇīm ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Pleased with that deed of his—accepting the gift—the Lord of the gods, Vāsava (Indra), smiled to himself and thought, “Ah, what daring!” “Among gods, demons, yakṣas, gandharvas, nāgas, and rākṣasas, I see none with such boldness; who else could accomplish such an act?” Then, speaking aloud, he said: “Hero, I am delighted by this deed of yours. Choose from me whatever boon you desire.” Karṇa replied: “Blessed Lord, I desire that unfailing spear granted by you, the destroyer of enemies.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical tension between generosity and self-preservation: Karṇa’s famed liberality leads him to give away even life-protecting armor and earrings, and the gods acknowledge the extraordinary daring of such giving. It also shows how boons and gifts can be entangled with strategy, foreshadowing moral complexity in wartime outcomes.
Indra, pleased after receiving Karṇa’s armor and earrings, praises his unmatched boldness among all classes of beings and offers him a boon. Karṇa asks for Indra’s powerful, enemy-destroying spear (śakti), setting up a crucial weapon-exchange that will later affect the course of the conflict.