Shloka 44
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
यच्च कर्णोडब्रवीत् कृष्णां सभायां परुषं वच: । प्रमुखे पाण्डुपुत्राणां तव चैव विशाम्पते
yac ca karṇo 'bravīt kṛṣṇāṃ sabhāyāṃ paruṣaṃ vacaḥ | pramukhe pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ tava caiva viśāmpate ||
Sañjaya said: “And the harsh words that Karṇa spoke to Kṛṣṇā in the royal assembly—spoken in the very presence of the sons of Pāṇḍu, and of you as well, O lord of the people—(all that now returns to mind).” The verse recalls an earlier moral rupture: public humiliation and cruel speech in a court of dharma, witnessed by those responsible to restrain it, becoming a seed of later catastrophe.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruel speech in a public forum—especially against the vulnerable—violates dharma and creates lasting moral debt. The verse also highlights the ethical failure of bystanders and rulers: wrongdoing intensifies when witnessed and left unchecked.
Sañjaya reminds Dhṛtarāṣṭra of Karṇa’s earlier insult to Draupadī in the assembly, spoken before the Pāṇḍavas and the king himself. The recollection functions as a moral backdrop in the war narrative, linking present suffering to prior injustice.