Mahabharata 7.184.1 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 184, Shloka 1
नील ()) आ+_अस+- दयशीत्याधिकशततमो<् ध्याय: कर्णने अर्जुनपर शक्ति क्यों नहीं छोड़ी
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | ekavīra-vadhe moghā śaktiḥ sūtātmaje yadā | kasmāt sarvān samutsṛjya sa tāṃ pārthe na muktavān ||
ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—സഞ്ജയാ! സൂതപുത്രൻ കർണ്ണന്റെ കൈവശമുണ്ടായിരുന്ന ആ ദിവ്യശക്തി ഒരേയൊരു വീരനെ വധിച്ചാൽ പിന്നെ നിഷ്ഫലമാകേണ്ടതായിരുന്നു എങ്കിൽ, അവൻ എല്ലാവരെയും വിട്ട് പാർഥൻ അർജുനനിലേക്കു തന്നെ അത് എറിയാതിരുന്നതെന്ത്?
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and strategic tension around limited-use power: a weapon that guarantees one decisive kill forces a choice shaped by duty, rivalry, and perceived destiny. It also reflects how attachment and fear can drive a ruler’s questioning, seeking rational causes behind outcomes that may be governed by larger moral and fated constraints.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya why Karṇa did not reserve and hurl his one-time, decisive Śakti against Arjuna. The question sets up an explanation about battlefield decisions and the circumstances that led Karṇa to use (or withhold) the weapon against a particular opponent.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.