Shloka 21
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare
युधिष्ठिरं च भीम॑ं च यमौ चैवार्जुनादते । अर्जुनेन समं॑ युद्धमपि यौधिष्िरे बले
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ ca bhīmaṃ ca yamau caivārjunād ṛte | arjunena samaṃ yuddham api yudhiṣṭhire bale ||
カルナは言った。「アルジュナを除いて、ユディシュティラ、ビーマ、そして双子のナクラとサハデーヴァには手を下さぬ。たとえ戦の渦中で、彼らが我が力の及ぶところにあり、討つに足る状態であってもだ。わが真の戦いはアルジュナただ一人に向けられる。たとえ彼がユディシュティラの軍勢の中に立っていようとも。」
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, a warrior may bind himself by ethical restraint and personal vows: Karna limits his violence to a single rival (Arjuna), presenting honor and self-imposed dharma as governing conduct amid battlefield power.
Karna declares that, though he may encounter Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, and the twins in vulnerable positions during the coming war, he will not kill them; his decisive fight will be only with Arjuna, even within Yudhiṣṭhira’s forces.