Shloka 9
भीष्म-पर्व अध्याय १०० — त्रिगर्त-आक्रमण, भीष्म-केन्द्रित पुनर्संयोजन, तथा शक्त्यस्त्र-विनिमय
अहं पार्थान् हनिष्यामि सहितान् सर्वसोमकै: । पश्यतो युधि भीष्मस्य शपे सत्येन ते नृप,भरतवंशी नरेश! जब युद्धमें गंगानन्दन भीष्म हथियार डाल देंगे और उससे सर्वथा निवृत्त हो जायँगे, उस समय मैं युद्धमें भीष्मके देखते-देखते सोमकोंसहित समस्त कुन्तीपुत्रोंकी एक साथ मार डालूँगा, यह मैं तुमसे सत्यकी शपथ खाकर कहता हूँ
ahaṁ pārthān haniṣyāmi sahitān sarva-somakaiḥ | paśyato yudhi bhīṣmasya śape satyena te nṛpa ||
Karna said: “I shall slay the sons of Pṛthā, together with all the Somakas, while Bhīṣma looks on in the battle. O king, I swear this to you by truth.” The vow underscores Karna’s fierce resolve and rivalry, framed as a solemn ethical self-binding (a satya-śapatha) within the brutal logic of war, and it is explicitly conditioned on Bhīṣma’s presence as witness.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power and peril of vows in dharmic culture: invoking satya (truth) makes a promise morally binding, yet here it is used to intensify destructive intent, showing how ethical instruments (oaths) can serve adharma when yoked to hatred and rivalry.
Karna declares to the king that he will kill the Pāṇḍavas along with their Somaka allies, swearing by truth, and emphasizing that he will do so in battle while Bhīṣma is watching—projecting confidence and staking his reputation on a public, witnessed vow.