Shloka 12

Devanagari script

नोत्सहे जीवितुमहं त्वद्विहीनो नररषभ । प्रायोपविष्टस्तु नृप राज्ञां हास्यो भविष्यसि,नरश्रेष्ठ! तुमसे अलग होकर मैं जीवित नहीं रहना चाहता। राजन! आमरण अनशनके लिये बैठ जानेपर तुम समस्त राजाओंके उपहासपात्र हो जाओगे

Transliteration

notsahe jīvitum ahaṃ tvad-vihīno naraṛṣabha | prāyopaviṣṭas tu nṛpa rājñāṃ hāsyo bhaviṣyasi ||

Translation

Karna nói: “Hỡi bậc trượng phu ưu tú, ta không thể chịu nổi việc sống xa ngài. Tâu Đại vương, nếu ngài ngồi xuống quyết tuyệt thực cho đến chết, ngài sẽ trở thành trò cười trước mặt các bậc quân vương.”

Word by Word

नnot

उत्सहेI am able / I dare

जीवितुम्to live

अहम्I

त्वत्-विहीनःdevoid of you / separated from you

नर-ऋषभO bull among men

प्राय-उपविष्टःhaving sat down for fasting unto death

तुbut / indeed

नृपO king

राज्ञाम्of kings

हास्यःlaughable / an object of ridicule

भविष्यसिyou will become

नर-श्रेष्ठO best of men

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

unnamed king addressed as nṛpa/naraṛṣabha (contextually a royal ally)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.