Shloka 3
अध्याय ४ — भीष्मेन कर्णोत्साहनम्
Bhīṣma’s Encouragement of Karṇa
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत द्रोणाभिषेक पर्वमें कर्णवाक्यविषयक तीयरा अध्याय पूरा हुआ,पर्जन्य इव भूतानां प्रतिष्ठा सुह्ददां भव । बान्धवास्त्वानुजीवन्तु सहस्राक्षमिवामरा: “कर्ण! जैसे सरिताओंका आश्रय समुद्र, ज्योतिर्मय पदार्थोंका सूर्य, सत्यका साधु पुरुष, बीजोंका उर्वरा भूमि और प्राणियोंकी जीविकाका आधार मेघ है, उसी प्रकार तुम भी अपने सुहृदोंके आश्रयदाता बनो। जैसे देवता सहस्रलोचन इन्द्रका आश्रय लेकर जीवन- निर्वाह करते हैं, उसी प्रकार समस्त बन्धु-बान्धव तुम्हारा आश्रय लेकर जीवन धारण करें
parjanya iva bhūtānāṁ pratiṣṭhā suhṛdāṁ bhava | bāndhavās tv anu jīvantu sahasrākṣam ivāmarāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Become, for your well-wishers, a firm support like the rain-cloud is for living beings. Let your kinsmen live on, sustained by you, just as the gods sustain their life by taking refuge in Sahasrākṣa (Indra).” The verse frames Karṇa’s ideal role as a protector and provider: strength is praised not merely for victory in war, but for sustaining one’s own people through steadfast patronage and responsibility.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and status are ethically validated when they become a refuge for others: one should sustain friends and relatives as rain sustains beings and as the gods rely on Indra—i.e., leadership as dependable support.
In Sañjaya’s narration, a blessing/exhortation is voiced toward Karṇa, urging him to become the sustaining pillar of his allies and kinsmen, using cosmic analogies (rain-cloud; Indra as the gods’ support).