Shloka 17

भीष्म-पर्व अध्याय १०० — त्रिगर्त-आक्रमण, भीष्म-केन्द्रित पुनर्संयोजन, तथा शक्त्यस्त्र-विनिमय

Devanagari script

आगमिष्ये ततः: क्षिप्रं त्वत्सकाशमरिंदम । अफक्रान्ते ततो भीष्मे प्रहरिष्यसि संयुगे,राजन! दुःशासनसे ऐसा कहकर जनेश्वर दुर्योधनने कर्णसे कहा--'शत्रुदमन! मैं मनुष्योंमें श्रेष्ठ भीष्मको युद्धसे हटनेके लिये राजी करके अभी तुम्हारे पास लौट आता हूँ। फिर भीष्मके हट जानेपर तुम युद्धके मैदानमें शत्रुओंपर प्रहार करना”

Transliteration

āgamiṣye tataḥ kṣipraṃ tvat-sakāśam ariṃdama | apakrānte tato bhīṣme prahariṣyasi saṃyuge rājān ||

Translation

Duryodhana said to Karṇa: “O subduer of foes, I shall quickly return to you after persuading Bhīṣma—best among men—to withdraw from the battle. Then, once Bhīṣma has stepped aside, you shall strike the enemies on the battlefield, O king.” The passage frames a calculated shift in command and morale: removing the revered elder Bhīṣma becomes a strategic and ethically charged precondition for unleashing Karṇa’s full aggression in war.

Word by Word

• {'āgamiṣye': 'I shall come/return (1st person singular, future)', 'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'kṣipram': 'quickly

• without delay', 'tvat-sakāśam': 'to your presence

• near you', 'ariṃdama': 'crusher of enemies

• subduer of foes (vocative epithet)', 'apakrānte': 'when (he) has withdrawn/stepped away (locative absolute sense)', 'tato': 'then

• thereafter', 'bhīṣme': 'Bhīṣma (locative: ‘when Bhīṣma…’)', 'prahariṣyasi': 'you will strike/attack (2nd person singular, future)', 'saṃyuge': 'in battle

• in the conflict (locative)', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)'}

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karṇa
• Duryodhana
• Bhīṣma
• enemies (śatravaḥ/ari)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how personal rivalries and questions of authority can shape wartime decisions: Duryodhana seeks to remove the morally weighty, elder commander Bhīṣma before empowering Karṇa to strike freely. Ethically, it underscores the tension between kṣatriya valor and the manipulation of leadership for strategic advantage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana addresses Karṇa, promising to quickly return after persuading Bhīṣma to withdraw from the fighting. Once Bhīṣma is out of the way, Duryodhana instructs Karṇa to attack the enemies in the battle.