Shloka 166
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
मामनुस्मरती शेते वाहीकं कुरुजाडूले । “निश्चय ही वह लंबी, गोरी और महीन कम्बलकी साड़ी पहननेवाली मेरी प्रेयसी कुरुजांगल प्रदेशमें निवास करनेवाले मुझ बाहीकको निरन्तर याद करती हुई सोती होगी
mām anusmaratī śete vāhīkaṃ kurujāḍūle |
Karna said: “That fair, slender beloved of mine, clad in a fine woollen wrap, surely lies down to sleep while constantly remembering me—the Vāhīka—dwelling in the Kuru-Jāṅgala region.” In the midst of war, the line reveals Karna’s inward pull toward personal attachment and longing, standing in tension with the harsh public duty of the battlefield.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid public duty and violent conflict, the mind can remain bound to private attachment; the verse highlights how memory and desire persist, creating an inner tension between personal longing and the demands of war.
Karna speaks of his beloved, imagining that she is lying down to sleep while constantly remembering him, and he identifies himself as a Vāhīka living in the Kuru-Jāṅgala region—an intimate, personal reflection set against the broader martial setting.