Shloka 12
Jayadratha Approaches Draupadī in the Forest
Hospitality, Persuasion, and Reproach
नोत्सहे जीवितुमहं त्वद्विहीनो नररषभ । प्रायोपविष्टस्तु नृप राज्ञां हास्यो भविष्यसि
notsahe jīvitum ahaṃ tvad-vihīno naraṛṣabha | prāyopaviṣṭas tu nṛpa rājñāṃ hāsyo bhaviṣyasi ||
کرن نے کہا—اے نرَرشبھ! تم سے جدا ہو کر میں جینا نہیں چاہتا۔ اے راجن! اگر تم مرن ورت کے لیے بیٹھ گئے تو سب بادشاہوں کے درمیان تم ہنسی کا نشانہ بن جاؤ گے۔
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses a king’s duty to uphold dignity and public responsibility: extreme personal acts like fasting unto death can undermine royal honor and invite political contempt, even if motivated by grief or despair.
Karna addresses a king he is devoted to, declaring he cannot live without him and warning that if the king undertakes prāyopaveśa (fasting to death), other rulers will mock him—urging him away from a self-destructive vow.