Shloka 62
इमं पापमतिं क्षुद्रमत्यन्तं पाण्डवान् प्रति । कर्णमद्य नरश्रेष्ठ जह्या: सुनिशितै: शरै:
sañjaya uvāca | imaṃ pāpamatim kṣudram atyantaṃ pāṇḍavān prati | karṇam adya naraśreṣṭha jahyāḥ suniśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó melhor dos homens, hoje abate Karṇa com tuas flechas afiadas como lâminas—esse de mente mesquinha, de intento pecaminoso, totalmente hostil aos Pāṇḍavas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Karṇa as persistently hostile and morally compromised toward the Pāṇḍavas, implying that in a dharma-yuddha a warrior may be ethically compelled to neutralize a relentless aggressor. It emphasizes discernment: compassion may be debated in some cases, but a proven, ongoing threat in war must be decisively stopped.
Sañjaya reports an urgent exhortation addressed to Arjuna: regardless of other hesitations, he should today strike down Karṇa with sharp arrows, because Karṇa is portrayed as intensely antagonistic to the Pāṇḍavas.