Shloka 14
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति कुलहितोपदेशः | Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Duryodhana on Dynastic Welfare
मया प्लवेन संग्राम तितीर्षन्ति दुरत्ययम् । अपारे पारकामा ये त्यजेयं तानहं कथम्,जो मुझको ही नौका बनाकर उसके सहारे दुर्लड्घ्य समरसागरको पार करना चाहते हैं और मेरे ही भरोसे अपार संकटसे पार होनेकी इच्छा रखते हैं, उन्हें इस संकटके समयमें कैसे त्याग दूँ?
mayā plavena saṅgrāmaṃ titīrṣanti duratyayam | apāre pārakāmā ye tyajeyaṃ tān ahaṃ katham ||
जे मला नौका मानून तिच्या आधाराने हा दुस्तर संग्रामसागर पार करू पाहतात, आणि माझ्याच भरोशावर अपार संकटातून पलीकडे जाण्याची इच्छा धरतात—अशा संकटसमयी मी त्यांना कसा सोडून देऊ?
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Karna frames loyalty as an ethical obligation: when others entrust their survival and success to you, abandoning them in danger is morally indefensible. The verse emphasizes steadfastness and responsibility toward dependents, even amid overwhelming risk.
In Udyoga Parva, as the great war becomes imminent, Karna speaks to justify his unwavering commitment to his side. He portrays the coming conflict as a perilous ocean and himself as the boat on which his companions rely, declaring that he cannot desert them at the critical moment.