Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
अन्यत्र वधकालात् ते सदृशेन समीयुष: । 'मूढ़! तूने ब्रह्मास्त्रके लोभसे झूठ बोलकर यहाँ मेरे साथ मिथ्याचार (कपटपूर्ण व्यवहार) किया है, इसलिये जबतक तू संग्राममें अपने समान योद्धाके साथ नहीं भिड़ेगा और तेरी मृत्युका समय निकट नहीं आ जायगा, तभीतक तुझे इस ब्रह्मास्त्रका स्मरण बना रहेगा
anyatra vadhakālāt te sadṛśena samīyuṣaḥ | mūḍha tvaṁ brahmāstrake lobhase jhūṭhaṁ bolakara iha mayā saha mithyācāraḥ (kapaṭapūrṇa-vyavahāraḥ) kṛtaḥ | tasmāt yāvat tvaṁ saṅgrāme svasadṛśena yoddhunā na bhiḍyase na ca te mṛtyukālaḥ sannikaṭo bhaviṣyati tāvat te ’sya brahmāstrasya smaraṇaṁ sthāsyati ||
Nārada disse: “Exceto na hora da tua morte—quando encontrares um oponente igual a ti—não te libertarás disso. Tolo! Por cobiça do Brahmāstra, mentiste e aqui lidaste comigo por meio de engano. Portanto, até que combatas contra um guerreiro semelhante a ti e a hora da tua morte se aproxime, a lembrança deste Brahmāstra permanecerá fixa em ti.”
नारद उवाच
Greed-driven deceit (lying about sacred power and acting with duplicity) binds one to lasting consequences; ethical failure produces an inescapable mental burden that is relieved only at a destined, dharmic resolution—here, the fatal encounter with an equal in battle.
Nārada rebukes the addressed person for lying about the Brahmāstra and behaving deceitfully toward him. As a consequence, Nārada declares that the person will remain haunted by the Brahmāstra’s remembrance until he meets an equal warrior in battle and his death becomes imminent.