Shloka 38
प्रशमे हि कृतो यत्न: सुमहान् सुचिरं मया । न चैव शकित: कर्तु कर्ण सत्यं ब्रवीमि ते,कर्ण! मैं तुमसे सत्य कहता हूँ। मैंने कौरवों और पाण्डवोंमें शान्ति स्थापित करनेके लिये दीर्घकालतक महान् प्रयत्न किया था; किंतु मैं उसमें कृतकार्य न हो सका
praśame hi kṛto yatnaḥ sumahān suciraṃ mayā | na caiva śakitaḥ kartuṃ karṇa satyaṃ bravīmi te ||
Bhīṣma said: “Indeed, for the sake of peace I made a very great effort for a long time. Yet I was not able to accomplish it. Karṇa, I tell you the truth.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even sustained and sincere efforts toward peace may fail when conditions and wills are opposed; nevertheless, one must uphold satya (truthfulness) and acknowledge reality without self-deception.
Bhīṣma addresses Karṇa directly, confessing that he long strove mightily to establish peace but could not succeed, and he emphasizes that he is speaking the truth to Karṇa.