Shloka 25
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
पिता पुत्रश्न माता च श्वश्रूश्वशुरमातुला: । जामाता दुहिता भ्राता नप्तान्ये ते च बान्धवा:
pitā putraś ca mātā ca śvaśrū-śvaśura-mātulāḥ | jāmātā duhitā bhrātā naptānye te ca bāndhavāḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Seorang bapa dan seorang anak lelaki, seorang ibu, ibu mertua dan bapa mertua, serta bapa-bapa saudara sebelah ibu; menantu lelaki, anak perempuan, saudara lelaki, cucu-cucu, dan kerabat lain—semuanya itulah kaum keluarga sendiri.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse enumerates close relations to underline the moral weight of bāndhava-bhāva (kinship): those bound by family ties are not ‘others’ but one’s own, and ethical decisions—especially in conflict—must reckon with obligations and the gravity of harming kin.
In Karna Parva, amid the escalating violence of the Kurukṣetra war, Karna speaks in a reflective, didactic tone, defining who counts as ‘one’s relatives’—a framing that intensifies the ethical tension of a war where many combatants are bound by family relationships.