Shloka 18
कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः
Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana
तेनाद्य तप्स्ये भृशमप्रमेयं यच्छत्रुवर्गे नरक प्रविष्ट: । तदैव वाच्यो5स्मि ननु त्वयाहं न योत्स्ये5हं सूतपुत्रं कथंचित्
tenādya tapsye bhṛśam aprameyaṁ yac chatruvarge naraka praviṣṭaḥ | tadaiva vācyo ’smi nanu tvayāhaṁ na yotsye ’haṁ sūtaputraṁ kathaṁcit ||
サञ्जयは言った。「それゆえ今日、私は苛烈にして量り知れぬ苦行を行おう。敵の隊列のただ中で、地獄へと堕ちたも同然だからだ。まことに、そなたは私がかつてそなたに告げた言葉を思い起こさせてよい――『いかなる場合にも、私は御者の子とは決して戦わぬ』と。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability to one’s own words: a prior resolve or vow carries ethical weight even amid battlefield pressure, and breaking it can feel like a fall into ‘hell’—a state of intense remorse and self-condemnation.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s anguish at being trapped among enemies and declares an intention to undertake severe penance. He recalls a previous statement—‘I will not fight the sūtaputra (Karṇa)’—and insists that this resolve should be held against him as his binding word.