Shloka 11
धनंजय-दुर्योधन-संग्रामः
Arjuna–Duryodhana Engagement and Admonition
धर्मपाशनिबद्धेन यत् त्वया मर्षितं पुरा । तथैव बद्धमात्मानमबद्धमिव मन्यसे,यदि तूने पहले धर्मके बन्धनमें बँधकर कष्ट सहन किया है, तो आज भी तू उसी प्रकार बँधा हुआ है; तो भी तू अपने-आपको उस बन्धनसे मुक्त-सा मान रहा है
dharmapāśanibaddhena yat tvayā marṣitaṃ purā | tathaiva baddham ātmānam abaddham iva manyase ||
Karna berkata: “Jika dahulu engkau menanggung derita ketika terikat oleh jerat dharma, maka hari ini pun engkau masih terikat dengan cara yang sama. Namun engkau menyangka dirimu bebas—seolah-olah ikatan itu tidak wujud.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral self-deception: a person may still be constrained by dharma (duty, obligation, ethical limits) even while imagining themselves free. True freedom requires honest recognition of one’s binding commitments and the consequences of past choices.
Karna addresses an interlocutor in a reproachful tone, pointing out inconsistency: the person previously accepted hardship under dharma’s constraint, but now behaves as though that same ethical bond no longer applies, claiming a freedom that is only imagined.