Mahabharata 1.136.40 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 136, Shloka 40
जतुगृहदाहः — The Burning of the Lac House and the Pāṇḍavas’ Concealed Escape
प्रत्रुहि राजशार्दूल कर्ता हास्मि तथा नृप । अत्यन्तं सख्यमिच्छामीत्याह तं॑ स सुयोधन:
prabrūhi rājaśārdūla kartā hāsmi tathā nṛpa | atyantaṁ sakhyam icchāmīty āha taṁ sa suyodhanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Karṇa menjawab, “Katakanlah, wahai harimau di antara raja-raja; demikian akan aku lakukan, wahai pemerintah.” Lalu Suyodhana berkata kepadanya: “Aku menginginkan persahabatan denganmu yang mutlak dan berkekalan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how gifts and honors can create binding social obligations: friendship is sought not merely as emotion but as a durable alliance, raising ethical questions about loyalty formed through indebtedness versus loyalty grounded in dharma.
After Karṇa has been honored and enriched, Duryodhana (Suyodhana) responds by asking for an unending friendship—cementing Karṇa as a committed ally, which later shapes the political alignment leading toward the Kurukṣetra conflict.
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