Shloka 32
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 2: Karṇa’s lament, vow, and battle preparation after Bhīṣma’s fall
“जिस सेनामें सत्यधृति राजा युधिष्ठिर खड़े हों, भीमसेन, अर्जुन, वासुदेव, सात्यकि तथा सूंजय मौजूद हों, उस सेनाको मैं राजाओंके लिये अजेय मानता हूँ ।। त॑ चेन्मृत्यु: सर्वहरो5भिरक्षेत् सदाप्रमत्त: समरे किरीटिनम् । तथापि हन्तास्मि समेत्य संख्ये यास्यामि वा भीष्मपथा यमाय,“तथापि मैं समरभूमिमें सावधान रहकर युद्ध करूँगा और यदि सबका संहार करनेवाली मृत्यु स्वयं आकर अर्जुनकी रक्षा करे तो भी मैं युद्धके मैदानमें उनका सामना करके उन्हें मार डालूँगा अथवा स्वयं ही भीष्मके मार्गसे यमराजका दर्शन करनेके लिये चला जाऊँगा
yasyāṁ senāyāṁ satyadhṛtir rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ tiṣṭhati, bhīmasenaḥ, arjunaḥ, vāsudevaḥ, sātyakiḥ tathā sañjayaḥ ca vidyante, tāṁ senāṁ rājñāṁ prati aham ajeyāṁ manye. taṁ cen mṛtyuḥ sarvaharo 'bhirakṣet sadāpramattaḥ samare kirīṭinam; tathāpi hantāsmi sametya saṅkhye yāsyāmi vā bhīṣmapathā yamāya.
Sañjaya said: “That army in which King Yudhiṣṭhira—steadfast in truth—stands, and where Bhīmasena, Arjuna, Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), Sātyaki, and Sañjaya are present, I regard as unconquerable for kings. Yet I shall fight on the battlefield with unceasing vigilance; even if Death itself—the all-destroyer—were to come and protect the diademed Arjuna, still I will meet him in open combat and either slay him or, following the path of Bhīṣma, go to Yama.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights two intertwined ideals: (1) the moral and strategic strength of a dharma-aligned alliance (Yudhiṣṭhira’s truth-grounded leadership with Kṛṣṇa and key warriors), and (2) the kṣatriya ethic of steadfast courage—fighting with vigilance and accepting death rather than abandoning one’s duty, even when the odds appear supernaturally stacked.
Sañjaya describes the Pandava side as effectively invincible because it contains Yudhiṣṭhira and the foremost champions, including Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. The verse then shifts into a vow-like declaration of battle-intent: the speaker asserts he will confront Arjuna in direct combat regardless of any protection—even if Death itself were to guard him—resulting either in Arjuna’s death or the speaker’s own heroic death, envisioned as going to Yama by the ‘path of Bhīṣma’ (the warrior’s death in battle).