Shloka 553
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
कर्ण वा जधघ्नतुः कृष्णौ कर्णो वा निजघान तौ । नीच देशमें उत्पन्न शल्य! आज यहाँ सुननेवाले सुनेंगे और देखनेवाले देख लेंगे कि “श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनने कर्णको मारा या कर्णने ही उन दोनोंको मार गिराया”
karṇa vā jighnatuḥ kṛṣṇau karṇo vā nijaghāna tau | nīca-deśe utpanna śalya! adya iha śrotāraḥ śroṣyanti draṣṭāraś ca drakṣyanti yat “śrīkṛṣṇa-arjunābhyāṃ karṇo hataḥ” athavā “karṇenaiva tau ubhau nipātitau” iti ||
Karna said: “Either Krishna and Arjuna will strike down Karna, or Karna will strike down those two. O Shalya, born in a lowly land! Today, here, those who hear will hear and those who see will see which is true—whether ‘Karna was slain by Sri Krishna and Arjuna,’ or whether ‘Karna himself felled them both.’” In this boast Karna frames the coming combat as a public moral verdict: fame, blame, and the perceived righteousness of victory will be decided before witnesses, not merely on the battlefield.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how warriors seek moral validation through public reputation, but also warns ethically about pride and contempt: Karna’s confidence is coupled with an insult to Shalya’s origin, showing how adharma can enter through speech even when one claims kshatriya honor.
On the eve of decisive combat, Karna declares that the outcome will settle, before all witnesses, whether Krishna and Arjuna defeat him or he defeats them. He addresses Shalya sharply, asserting that the battlefield will publicly prove whose claim stands.