Mahabharata 7.149.70 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 149, Shloka 70
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
तथा तु विरथं कर्ण पुत्रांश्ष॒ तव पार्थिव
tathā tu virathaṁ karṇa-putrāṁś ca tava pārthiva, rājan, apane manako vaśaṁ karanevāle sātyakine rathahīna hue karṇako tathā duḥśāsana-ādīn āpake vīra putrān api tadā tasmād na jaghāna, yat te’pi bhīmasena-arjunābhyāṁ pūrvaṁ kṛtāyāḥ pratijñāyāḥ rakṣāṁ kurvanti sma.
Sinabi ni Sanjaya: O hari, nang si Karna ay naiwan nang walang karwahe, si Satyaki na may pagpipigil-sa-sarili ay hindi pa rin siya pinatay; ni hindi rin niya noon pinaslang ang matatapang mong anak gaya ni Duhshasana. Nagpigil siya sa dahilang ito: sa sandaling iyon, pinangangalagaan nila ang naunang panata nina Bhimasena at Arjuna (Partha)—kaya pinili ni Satyaki na huwag lumampas sa hanggahang moral na itinakda ng mga panatang iyon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, restraint guided by dharma matters: Satyaki does not exploit Karna’s chariotless vulnerability, and he respects the moral-legal space created by Bhima and Arjuna’s prior vows, showing that pledged claims and ethical boundaries can limit violence.
During the Kurukshetra battle, Karna becomes chariotless. Satyaki, though capable of killing him (and also Duhshasana and other Kaurava princes present), refrains because those opponents fall under the scope of earlier vows made by Bhima and Arjuna, and Satyaki chooses not to interfere with or violate those pledged undertakings.
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