Shloka 9
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
तमहं यत्र तत्रस्थं द्रष्टमिच्छामि सूर्यजम् । अविज्ञातो मया योडसौ घातित: सव्यसाचिना,ये सूर्यनन्दन कर्ण जहाँ कहीं भी हों मैं उनका दर्शन करना चाहता हूँ; जिन्हें न जाननेके कारण मैंने अर्जुनद्वारा उनका वध करवा दिया
tam ahaṁ yatra tatra-sthaṁ draṣṭum icchāmi sūryajam | avijñāto mayā yo ’sau ghātitaḥ savyasācinā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Wherever he may be, I wish to behold that son of the Sun. Through my failure to recognize him, I caused him to be slain by Arjuna.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability beyond battlefield victory: ignorance and misrecognition can still carry ethical weight. Yudhiṣṭhira accepts responsibility for Karṇa’s death, expressing remorse and a desire for reconciliation through seeing him.
In Svargārohaṇa (the ascent to heaven), Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about Karṇa—identified as the Sun’s son—and says he wishes to see him wherever he is, admitting that because he did not recognize him, he had Arjuna kill him in the war.