Shloka 18
कर्णवधोत्तरं शल्य-दुर्योधनसंवादः
Aftermath of Karṇa’s Fall: Śalya’s Address to Duryodhana
तेनाद्य तप्स्ये भृशमप्रमेयं यच्छत्रुवर्गे नरक प्रविष्ट: । तदैव वाच्यो5स्मि ननु त्वयाहं न योत्स्ये5हं सूतपुत्रं कथंचित्
tenādya tapsye bhṛśam aprameyaṁ yac chatruvarge naraka praviṣṭaḥ | tadaiva vācyo ’smi nanu tvayāhaṁ na yotsye ’haṁ sūtaputraṁ kathaṁcit ||
तेनाद्य तप्स्ये भृशमप्रमेयं यच्छत्रुवर्गे नरकं प्रविष्टः । तदैव वाच्योऽस्मि ननु त्वयाहं न योत्स्येऽहं सूतपुत्रं कथञ्चित् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability to one’s own words: a prior resolve or vow carries ethical weight even amid battlefield pressure, and breaking it can feel like a fall into ‘hell’—a state of intense remorse and self-condemnation.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s anguish at being trapped among enemies and declares an intention to undertake severe penance. He recalls a previous statement—‘I will not fight the sūtaputra (Karṇa)’—and insists that this resolve should be held against him as his binding word.