Shloka 39
३७-३८ ।। तथेति च प्रतिज्ञातं कर्णेन शिनिपुड्भव । ह्ृदि नित्यं च कर्णस्य वधो गाण्डीवधन्वचन:
37–38. tatha iti ca pratijñātaṁ karṇena śinipuḍbhava | hṛdi nityaṁ ca karṇasya vadho gāṇḍīvadhanvavacanaḥ ||
“So be it,” Karṇa promised, O descendant of Śini. Yet in Karṇa’s heart there remained, unceasingly, the thought of killing the wielder of Gāṇḍīva. His resolve was fixed on slaying Arjuna—an inner vow that reveals how, in war, personal enmity and pride can harden into a single-minded purpose, regardless of the wider claims of dharma.
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A spoken promise may be brief, but the deeper ethical force lies in the intention held in the heart. The verse highlights how inner resolve—especially when driven by rivalry—can dominate judgment in war, raising questions about whether personal vendetta aligns with dharma.
Karṇa gives his assent (“so be it”) and makes a pledge; nevertheless, he continually keeps in his heart the determination to slay the Gāṇḍīva-wielding archer—Arjuna—showing his persistent fixation on that single objective.