Shloka 233
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
येषां षड़भागहर्ता त्वमुभयो: शुभपापयो: । ब्राह्मणने निरर्थक आचार-विचारवाले बाहीकोंको ऐसा ही बताया है, जिनके पुण्य और पाप दोनोंका छठा भाग तुम लिया करते हो
yeṣāṃ ṣaḍbhāgahartā tvam ubhayoḥ śubhapāpayoḥ |
Karna said: “You are the one who takes a sixth share of both their merit and their sin.” In ethical terms, the line invokes the idea that a ruler or authority figure participates in the moral consequences of the people under his protection and governance—sharing in their virtue when they are upheld in dharma, and sharing in their wrongdoing when they are neglected or led astray.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the doctrine of shared moral accountability: a ruler (or responsible authority) is not ethically isolated, but partakes in a portion of the merit and sin generated within the community he governs—especially through protection, justice, and the upholding of dharma.
Karna, speaking in the Karna Parva context, makes a pointed ethical remark to his addressee: since the addressee is regarded as one who receives a ‘sixth share’ (ṣaḍbhāga) of people’s outcomes, he must also bear responsibility for both their good and bad—implying accountability tied to authority.