Shloka 286
भवद्धिरुपलब्धानि कथितानि च संसदि । पितामह! आपने भी तो ऐसे निमित्त (लक्षण) देखे थे, जो भूमण्डलके विनाशकी सूचना देनेवाले थे। आपने कौरवसभामें उनका वर्णन भी किया था
bhavadbhir upalabdhāni kathitāni ca saṃsadi | pitāmaha! āpane bhī to aise nimitta (lakṣaṇa) dekhe the, jo bhūmaṇḍala-ke vināśa-kī sūcanā dene-vāle the | āpane kaurava-sabhā-meṃ unakā varṇana bhī kiyā thā |
Karna said: “Revered Grandfather, you yourself had perceived those ominous portents and also described them in the assembly—signs that foretold the destruction of the earth’s realm. You had already spoken of them before the Kauravas.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral weight of counsel and foresight: when elders perceive destructive signs and warn the court, ignoring such warnings becomes an ethical failure that hastens collective ruin.
Karna addresses Bhishma, reminding him that Bhishma had earlier seen and publicly described ominous portents in the Kaurava assembly—signs indicating impending devastation—thereby framing the war as long-foretold and preventable.