Shloka 5
जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released
सहायद्नचानुरक्तश्न मदर्थ च समुद्यत: । अभिप्रायस्तु मे कश्चित् तं वै शूणु यथातथम्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! कर्णके ऐसा कहनेपर राजा दुर्योधनने पुनः उससे कहा--'पुरुषश्रेष्ठ जिसके सहायक तुम हो एवं जिसपर तुम्हारा अनुराग है, उसके लिये कुछ भी दुर्लभ नहीं है। तुम सदा मेरे हितके लिये उद्यत रहते हो। मेरा एक मनोरथ है, जिसे यथार्थरूपसे बतलाता हूँ, सुनो”
sahāyadān cānuraktaś ca madarthe ca samudyataḥ | abhiprāyas tu me kaścit taṃ vai śṛṇu yathātatham ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, when Karṇa had spoken thus, King Duryodhana again addressed him: ‘For the best of men whose ally you are, and toward whom your affection is fixed, nothing is truly hard to obtain. You are ever ready for my welfare. I have a certain intention—hear it from me exactly as it is.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how loyalty and capability in an ally can embolden a ruler’s ambitions; ethically, it warns that devotion and readiness for another’s ‘welfare’ can be used to advance plans whose moral quality depends on the intention behind them.
After Karṇa speaks, Duryodhana reassures him of his value as a devoted ally, claims that nothing is difficult with such support, and then announces that he has a specific plan which he will state plainly for Karṇa to hear.