Shloka 22
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
अविज्ञानाद् भवान् यच्च धर्म रक्षति धर्मवित् | प्राणिनां त्वं वध पार्थ धार्मिको नावबुध्यसे
avijñānād bhavān yac ca dharmaṁ rakṣati dharmavit | prāṇināṁ tvaṁ vadha pārtha dhārmiko nāvabudhyase, kuntīnandana |
Śrī Kṛṣṇa bersabda: “Kerana kejahilan, engkau berangkat untuk ‘melindungi dharma,’ menyangka dirimu seorang yang mengetahui dharma. Namun engkau tidak menyedari bahawa dalam jalan ini ada dosa kekerasan terhadap makhluk bernyawa. Wahai Pārtha, wahai putera Kuntī—itulah yang bahkan engkau, yang menganggap dirimu benar, gagal mengerti.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa challenges the assumption that ‘defending dharma’ is automatically righteous: without clear discernment, one may commit grave harm—especially violence against living beings—while still imagining oneself to be dharmic. True dharma requires understanding consequences and moral clarity, not merely a self-image of righteousness.
In the Karṇa Parva battle context, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna directly, rebuking him for acting under confusion while claiming to uphold dharma. He points out that Arjuna is overlooking the ethical weight of killing involved in his chosen course, and urges deeper comprehension of what dharma entails amid war.