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:,“वीर! तुमने मुझसे कर्णके वधकी प्रतिज्ञा करके उसका उसी रूपमें पालन नहीं किया। यदि ऐसा ही करना था तो हमें शत्रुओंके बीचमें लाकर पत्थरकी वेदीपर पटककर पीस क्यों डाला?
sañjaya uvāca |
mayi pratiśrutya vadha hi tasya na vai kṛtaṃ tac ca tathaiva vīra |
ānīya naḥ śatru-madhyaṃ sa kasmāt samutkṣipya sthaṇḍile pratyapiñchāḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó herói, prometeste-me que o matarias, mas não cumpriste de fato essa promessa tal como foi jurada. Se este era o desfecho, por que nos trouxeste ao meio do inimigo—apenas para nos arremessar ao chão nu como sobre um altar de pedra e nos esmagar?”
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.