Shloka 36
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
किमाश्चर्य कृतप्रज्ञ: पुरुषोडपि सुदारुण: । सुमहत् प्राप्तुयात् पुण्यं बलाको5न्धवधादिव
kim āścaryaṁ kṛtaprajñaḥ puruṣo 'pi sudāruṇaḥ | sumahat prāpnuyāt puṇyaṁ balāko 'ndhavadhād iva ||
ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഇതിൽ അത്ഭുതമെന്ത്? കൃതപ്രജ്ഞനായ പുരുഷൻ, അത്യന്തം കഠോരനായാലും, മഹത്തായ പുണ്യം പ്രാപിക്കാം—ബാലാകൻ അന്ധനെ വധിച്ചതിലൂടെ (പുണ്യം) നേടിയതുപോലെ.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa emphasizes that merit (puṇya) can arise from an act aligned with a larger dharmic necessity, even if the doer is personally harsh or morally flawed; character alone does not mechanically determine the ethical fruit of every deed.
In the Karṇa Parva dialogue, Kṛṣṇa responds to a doubt or astonishment about how someone severe or cruel could gain merit, and he supports his point with an illustrative precedent: Balāka gaining great puṇya through the killing of a blind person.