Shloka 493
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
या गतिर्गुरुणा प्रोक्ता पुरा रामेण तां स्मरे । पूर्वकालमें गुरुवर परशुरामजीने युद्धमें पीठ न दिखानेवाले एवं शत्रुका सामना करते हुए प्राण विसर्जन कर देनेवाले पुरुषसिंहोंके लिये जो उत्तम गति बतायी है, उसे मैं सदा याद रखता हूँ
yā gatir guruṇā proktā purā rāmeṇa tāṃ smare |
Karna said: “I continually remember that supreme destiny once taught by my guru Rama (Paraśurāma)—the reward promised to lion-like warriors who, in battle, never turn their backs and who meet the enemy face to face, surrendering their very lives.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
A warrior’s ethical ideal is steadfast courage: not retreating in fear, confronting the enemy directly, and accepting death if necessary. Such unwavering valor, as taught by Paraśurāma, is presented as leading to an exalted posthumous destiny (gati).
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva’s battle context, Karna invokes his former guru Paraśurāma’s instruction. By recalling the ‘gati’ promised to those who do not show their back in combat, he frames his own resolve and justifies a fight-to-the-death stance as aligned with warrior dharma.