Shloka 19
अर्जुन-कर्ण-सङ्ग्रामः
Arjuna–Karna Engagement in the Cattle-Raid Aftermath
एकान्ते पार्थमासीनं कूपेडग्निमिव संवृतम् । अज्ञानादभ्यवस्कन्दध्य प्राप्ता: स््मो भयमुत्तमम्
ekānte pārtham āsīnaṁ kūpe 'gnim iva saṁvṛtam | ajñānād abhyavaskandhya prāptāḥ smo bhayam uttamam ||
クリパは言った。「我らは無知のまま、ここに隠遁して座すパールタ（アルジュナ）へと突き進んでしまった—井の底に潜む火のように覆い隠された者へ。かくして我らは最大の恐怖を自ら招いた。十三年にわたり彼らを森に置き、欺きもって遇してきたのだ。いま誓いの束縛が解けた以上、鎖を解かれた獅子のように、我らを滅ぼさずにおくであろうか。」
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Deceit and unjust conduct create moral and strategic peril: when one wrongs the righteous and then confronts them after their restraint ends, fear and consequences naturally follow. The simile of “fire hidden in a well” warns that suppressed power and rightful anger can be underestimated until it suddenly blazes forth.
Kṛpa recognizes that the Kaurava side has unknowingly come upon Arjuna in a moment of concealed strength. He recalls their long, deceitful treatment of the Pāṇḍavas during the thirteen-year exile and worries that, now released from their vow’s constraints, the Pāṇḍavas—like an unchained lion—may retaliate and destroy them.