Shloka 49
Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa
Gaṅgātīra encounter begins
अथवा सड्म: कृष्ण स्वर्गे नो भविता ध्रुवम् तत्रेदानीं समेष्याम: पुनः सार्थ त्वयानघ,अथवा श्रीकृष्ण! अब हमलोग स्वर्गमें ही मिलेंगे, यह निश्चित है। अनघ! वहाँ आजकी ही भाँति पुन: आपसे हमारी भेंट होगी
athavā sadmaḥ kṛṣṇa svarge no bhavitā dhruvam | tatredānīṃ sameṣyāmaḥ punaḥ sārtha tvayānagha ||
«А если нет, о Кришна, то место нашей встречи наверняка будет на небесах. О безупречный, там мы снова сойдёмся — как сегодня — вновь в товариществе».
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights acceptance of inevitable consequences: when worldly reconciliation seems impossible, Karṇa frames reunion in terms of the afterlife, implying that the coming conflict is morally and existentially decisive. It reflects a warrior’s grim clarity—actions lead to death and posthumous destiny, so one must face outcomes with steadiness.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and counsel, Karṇa addresses Kṛṣṇa and speaks as if death is near. He suggests that if they cannot remain together in this world, they will surely meet again in Svarga—an ominous acknowledgement that the war is imminent and that their paths may soon diverge through death.