Shloka 50
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
अभिद्रुत्य तु राधेय: पाण्डुपुत्रं युधिष्ठिरम्
abhidrutya tu rādheyaḥ pāṇḍuputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram | śubhalakṣaṇasampannena gaurahastena tasya skandhaṃ spṛṣṭvā balād grahītuṃ cikīrṣur iva, ātmānaṃ pavitrayitum iva | tasminn eva kāle kuntīdevyai dattavacanaṃ tasya smṛtim ājagāma ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Si Karṇa, anak ni Rādhā, ay sumugod upang habulin si Yudhiṣṭhira, anak ni Pāṇḍu. Sa kanyang maputing kamay—na may mga mapalad na tanda gaya ng vajra, payong, pang-udyok, isda, watawat, pagong, lotus at iba pa—hinipo niya ang balikat ni Yudhiṣṭhira at waring ibig siyang dakpin nang sapilitan, na para bang sa mismong gawaing iyon niya lilinisin ang sarili. Ngunit sa sandaling iyon, naalala ni Karṇa ang pangakong ibinigay niya kay Reyna Kuntī.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the fury of battle, moral restraint can arise from a prior vow: Karṇa’s remembered promise to Kuntī checks an impulse toward a decisive but ethically constrained act, showing how personal commitments and dharma can limit violence.
Karṇa closes in on Yudhiṣṭhira and physically touches his shoulder, appearing ready to seize him; at that critical instant he recalls the word he had given to Kuntī, which alters or restrains his immediate course of action.