Shloka 1
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare
अपर षट्चत्वारिशर्दाधेकशततमो< ध्याय: कर्णका कुन्तीको उत्तर तथा अर्जुनको छोड़कर शेष चारों पाण्डवोंको न मारनेकी प्रतिज्ञा वैशम्पायन उवाच ततः सूर्यन्निश्वरितां कर्ण: शुश्राव भारतीम् । दुरत्ययां प्रणयिनीं पितृवद् भास्करेरिताम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tataḥ sūryān niścaritāṃ karṇaḥ śuśrāva bhāratīm | duratyayāṃ praṇayinīṃ pitṛvad bhāskareritām ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。するとカルナは、太陽から発した声を聞いた。それは太陽神みずからの言葉であり—父の諭しのように慈しみに満ち、しかも退けがたい—愛と義務とを同時に負わせるかのごとく、親密な思いをもってカルナに呼びかけたのである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when counsel comes with deep affection and divine authority, it tests one’s discernment: love can bind as strongly as law. The verse frames ethical pressure—an instruction that feels ‘hard to disregard’—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between personal loyalty, moral duty, and the weight of destiny.
As the story proceeds in Udyoga Parva, Karṇa hears a voice emerging from the Sun—Sūrya, his divine father. The narration emphasizes the voice’s fatherly affection and compelling force, setting the stage for consequential advice and vows connected with the coming war.