Shloka 6
कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः
Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana
मयि प्रतिश्रुत्य वध हि तस्य न वै कृतं तच्च तथैव वीर । आनीय नः शत्रुमध्यं स कस्मात् समुत्क्षिप्य स्थण्डिले प्रत्यपिंछा:
sañjaya uvāca |
mayi pratiśrutya vadha hi tasya na vai kṛtaṃ tac ca tathaiva vīra |
ānīya naḥ śatru-madhyaṃ sa kasmāt samutkṣipya sthaṇḍile pratyapiñchāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai wira, engkau telah berjanji kepadaku bahawa engkau akan membunuhnya, namun engkau tidak menunaikan janji itu sebagaimana yang telah diikrarkan. Jika inilah kesudahannya, mengapa engkau membawa kami ke tengah-tengah musuh—hanya untuk menghempaskan kami ke tanah yang tandus bagaikan pelantar batu altar, lalu menghancurkan kami?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a warrior’s pledge: a vow (pratiśruti) is not merely spoken intent but a binding commitment. Failure to fulfill it invites moral censure, especially when others are endangered by reliance on that promise.
Sañjaya voices a sharp reproach to a warrior he calls ‘vīra’: the warrior had promised to kill a particular foe (understood in context as Karṇa) but did not accomplish it. Sañjaya questions why they were brought into the enemy’s midst only to be cast down and ‘crushed’—a vivid image of being ruined by a failed strategy and an unkept vow.