Shloka 286
कर्णपुत्रवधः (The Fall of Vṛṣasena) — Karṇa Parva, Adhyāya 62
कि नु माद्रीसुतौ हत्वा राजानं च युधिष्िरम् । “तुम चलकर जीवनके भारी संशयमें पड़े हुए राजा दुर्योधनको बचाओ। आज माद्रीकुमार नकुल-सहदेव तथा राजा युधिष्ठिरका वध करके क्या होगा?”
ki nu mādrīsutau hatvā rājānaṃ ca yudhiṣṭhiram |
Sanjaya said: “What would be gained by slaying Madri’s two sons and King Yudhiṣṭhira? Go and save King Duryodhana, who is walking into a grave uncertainty about his very life.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral-pragmatic warning: victory is not merely about killing prominent opponents; one must also protect one’s own leader and act with clear purpose. It questions the ethical and strategic value of further bloodshed when the immediate duty is to safeguard Duryodhana, whose survival is pivotal.
Sanjaya reports a counsel that urges immediate action to rescue Duryodhana, who is in peril and mentally shaken. The speaker dismisses the utility of killing Nakula, Sahadeva, and even Yudhiṣṭhira at that moment, emphasizing that saving Duryodhana is the urgent priority.