Shloka 15
Chapter 61: Karṇa’s martial assurances and Bhīṣma’s strategic rebuttal in the Kuru assembly
सत्यप्रतिज्ञ: किल सूतपुत्र- स्तथा स भार विषहेत कस्मात् । व्यूहं प्रतिव्यूह्य शिरांसि भित्त्वा लोकक्षयं पश्यत भीमसेनात्
satyapratijñaḥ kila sūtaputraḥ tathā sa bhāraṁ viṣaheta kasmāt | vyūhaṁ prativyūhya śirāṁsi bhittvā lokakṣayaṁ paśyata bhīmasenāt ||
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا—سوت پُتر کرن سچّی پرتِگیا والا مشہور تھا؛ پھر بھی اتنا بھاری بوجھ وہ کیسے اٹھا سکتا تھا؟ اس لیے دشمن کے ویوہ کے مقابل اپنا ویوہ باندھو؛ ویوہ سے ویوہ ٹکراؤ، رَن میں سروں کو چیر دو، اور بھیم سین کے ہاتھوں ہونے والی دنیا کی تباہی دیکھو۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between public reputation for keeping vows (satyapratijñā) and the actual capacity to bear the consequences of one’s commitments. It also frames war as a self-amplifying cycle: strategic counter-formations and violent escalation can culminate in catastrophic, world-destroying outcomes—here symbolically associated with Bhīmasena’s overwhelming force.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a charged exhortation: Karṇa, called the sūtaputra and famed for steadfast vows, is questioned for his ability to carry the ‘burden’ implied by his earlier boasts or commitments. The speaker urges the warriors to meet the Pāṇḍava army’s formation with a counter-formation and to engage in brutal combat, foretelling immense slaughter and devastation associated with Bhīma.