Shloka 38
भीष्म-पर्व अध्याय १०० — त्रिगर्त-आक्रमण, भीष्म-केन्द्रित पुनर्संयोजन, तथा शक्त्यस्त्र-विनिमय
तस्मादर्हसि गाज़्ेय कृपां कर्तु मयि प्रभो । जहि पाण्डुसुतान् वीरान् महेन्द्र इव दानवान्,इसके बाद नेत्रोंमें आँसू भरकर हाथ जोड़े हुए गदगद कण्ठसे वह भीष्मसे इस प्रकार बोला--“शत्रुसूदन! हमलोग आपका आश्रय लेकर युद्धके मैदानमें इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवताओं तथा असुरोंको भी जीतनेका उत्साह रखते हैं; फिर मित्रों और बान्धवोंसहित वीर पाण्डवोंको जीतना कौन बड़ी बात है। अतः प्रभो! गंगानन्दन! आपको मुझपर कृपा करनी चाहिये। जैसे देवराज इन्द्र दानवोंका संहार करते हैं, उसी प्रकार आप वीर पाण्डवोंको मार डालिये
tasmād arhasi gāṅgeya kṛpāṁ kartu mayi prabho | jahi pāṇḍusutān vīrān mahendra iva dānavān ||
Therefore, O Gāṅgeya, you ought to show me favor, O lord. Slay the heroic sons of Pāṇḍu, just as great Indra destroys the Dānavas. With tears in his eyes and hands folded, Karṇa implores Bhīṣma to extend protective grace to him and to act decisively in war—framing the killing of kin as a righteous, god-like duty of the commander, and appealing to Bhīṣma’s authority to secure victory for the Kauravas.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in wartime rhetoric, duty and divine analogy are used to justify extreme action: Karṇa urges Bhīṣma to treat the killing of the Pāṇḍavas as a commander’s righteous obligation, likening it to Indra’s cosmic battle against the Dānavas. It also shows the ethical tension between personal bonds and the demands of allegiance and victory.
Karṇa, emotionally moved (tears and folded hands), addresses Bhīṣma as Gāṅgeya and asks him to show favor by taking decisive action on the battlefield—specifically, to kill the sons of Pāṇḍu—invoking Indra’s destruction of the Dānavas as a model for Bhīṣma’s role in the Kaurava cause.