Shloka 53
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
मित्रप्रतीक्षया शल्य धृतराष्ट्रस्य चोभयो:
mitrapratīkṣayā śalya dhṛtarāṣṭrasya cobhayoḥ
Karna berkata: “Wahai Śalya, demi menghormati persahabatan—dan juga demi Dhṛtarāṣṭra dalam kedua-dua hal (pada kedua-dua sisi)—….”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line foregrounds the ethical weight of loyalty: Karna frames his stance as guided by consideration for friendship and by regard for the Kuru king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, suggesting that personal bonds and obligations to authority shape choices even amid war.
Karna addresses Śalya directly and begins to justify or motivate his position by invoking two pressures—friendship/ally-regard and concern for Dhṛtarāṣṭra—setting up the reasoning for what he is about to say or do in the surrounding passage.