Shloka 70
एतौ च हत्वा युधि पातयिष्ये मां वापि कृष्णौ निहनिष्यतोड्द्य । मद्रराज! अर्जुनके साथ युद्धके विषयमें जो आज मेरा मनोरथ है, वह अविलम्ब और शीघ्र सफल होगा। यह युद्ध अत्यन्त अद्भुत, विचित्र और अनुपम होगा। मैं युद्धस्थलमें इन दोनोंको मार गिराऊँगा अथवा वे दोनों ही कृष्ण मुझे मार डालेंगे ।।
etau ca hatvā yudhi pātayiṣye māṃ vā api kṛṣṇau nihaniṣyato 'dya | iti bruvan śalyam amitrahantā karṇo raṇe megha ivonnanāda | yathā bhavadbhir bhṛśa-vikṣitāv ubhau sukhena hanyām aham adya bhūmipāḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Dalam pertempuran ini aku akan menjatuhkan kedua-duanya; atau jika tidak, kedua-duanya—Kṛṣṇa dan Arjuna—akan membunuhku hari ini.” Setelah berkata demikian kepada Śalya, Karna, si pembunuh musuh yang termasyhur, mengaum di medan perang seperti awan guruh. Lalu dia menggesa raja-raja dan pahlawan di sekelilingnya: “Wahai para wira, serbullah Kṛṣṇa dan Arjuna; halang kemaraan mereka dan segeralah letihkan mereka dengan segala usaha, supaya setelah kamu melukakan dan meremukkan dua ‘Kṛṣṇa’ itu dengan parah, aku dapat membunuh mereka dengan mudah pada hari ini.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the warrior ethic (kṣatriya-dharma) of unwavering resolve in battle while acknowledging mortality: Karna openly accepts that either he will fell Krishna–Arjuna or be slain by them. It also reveals a harsher ethical reality of epic warfare—victory is pursued through coordinated tactics (exhausting and wounding the opponent) rather than isolated heroism alone.
Karna, speaking to his charioteer Shalya, declares his determination to bring down Krishna and Arjuna (or die trying). He roars on the battlefield, is encouraged by Duryodhana, and then instructs allied kings and warriors to charge, block, and tire Krishna–Arjuna so that Karna can finish them once they are badly wounded.