Shloka 90
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
श्रुतं मे कर्ण भीष्मस्य द्वेषात् किल न योत्स्यसे । अस्मान् वरय राधेय यावद् भीष्मो न हन्यते,“कर्ण! मैंने सुना है, तुम भीष्मसे द्वेष होनेके कारण युद्ध नहीं करोगे। राधानन्दन! ऐसी दशामें जबतक भीष्म मारे नहीं जाते हैं, तबतक हमलोगोंका पक्ष ग्रहण कर लो
śrutaṃ me karṇa bhīṣmasya dveṣāt kila na yotsyase | asmān varaya rādheya yāvad bhīṣmo na hanyate ||
Sañjaya said: “Karna, I have heard that, out of enmity toward Bhīṣma, you will not fight. O son of Rādhā, then choose our side—at least until Bhīṣma is slain.” The line frames a moral tension within the Kaurava camp: personal rivalry and wounded honor are asked to yield to collective duty in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical conflict between personal enmity and collective obligation: a warrior’s private resentment is urged to be subordinated to the larger duty of supporting one’s side in a righteous (or at least pledged) cause of war.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, due to hostility toward Bhīṣma, intends not to fight while Bhīṣma leads the Kaurava forces; he urges Karṇa to align with and support the Kauravas at least until Bhīṣma is brought down.