Shloka 23
एवमाभाष्य राजानमब्रवीन्माधवं वच: । अद्य कर्ण रणे कृष्ण सूदयिष्ये न संशय:
evam ābhāṣya rājānam abravīn mādhavaṁ vacaḥ | adya karṇa raṇe kṛṣṇa sūdayiṣye na saṁśayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having thus addressed the king, he spoke these words to Mādhava: “Today, O Kṛṣṇa, I shall slay Karṇa in battle—of this there is no doubt.” The utterance conveys the hardening of resolve within the moral pressure of war, where certainty of victory is asserted even as the conflict remains bound to fate, duty, and the consequences of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the psychology of wartime dharma: a warrior’s firm vow to eliminate a formidable opponent, voiced with certainty. Ethically, it underscores how resolve and duty can harden into absolute declarations, even while the epic repeatedly reminds that outcomes are shaped by larger forces—dharma, prior deeds, and destiny.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after speaking to the king, someone addresses Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) and declares that Karṇa will be slain in battle that very day, asserting there is no doubt about it.