Shloka 12
Jayadratha Approaches Draupadī in the Forest
Hospitality, Persuasion, and Reproach
नोत्सहे जीवितुमहं त्वद्विहीनो नररषभ । प्रायोपविष्टस्तु नृप राज्ञां हास्यो भविष्यसि,नरश्रेष्ठ! तुमसे अलग होकर मैं जीवित नहीं रहना चाहता। राजन! आमरण अनशनके लिये बैठ जानेपर तुम समस्त राजाओंके उपहासपात्र हो जाओगे
notsahe jīvitum ahaṃ tvad-vihīno naraṛṣabha | prāyopaviṣṭas tu nṛpa rājñāṃ hāsyo bhaviṣyasi ||
कर्ण उवाच—नोत्सहे जीवितुमहं त्वद्विहीनो नरर्षभ। प्रायोपविष्टस्तु नृप राज्ञां हास्यो भविष्यसि॥
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses a king’s duty to uphold dignity and public responsibility: extreme personal acts like fasting unto death can undermine royal honor and invite political contempt, even if motivated by grief or despair.
Karna addresses a king he is devoted to, declaring he cannot live without him and warning that if the king undertakes prāyopaveśa (fasting to death), other rulers will mock him—urging him away from a self-destructive vow.