After the arrangements in the Karurava army were made, Duryodhana approached grandsire Bhishma to be their commander of the army.
It will be as you wish, Bhishma replied, I have given a promise to you that I will fight on your side, but I will not be able to kill the Pandavas. Protected by Lord Krishna, those heroes are incapable of being slain. There is not a warrior on earth that is equal to me except Arjuna, the son of Kunti. However, he will never seek to fight with me openly. With the power of my weapons, I can destroy the entire world along with all its planets, demigods and demons. The sons of Pandu, being protected by the Supreme Lord Krishna, cannot be killed by me or anyone else. I will, however, slaughter their forces at a rate of ten thousand a day.
There is one other condition on which I will become your commander, Bhishma continued. That is either Karna should fight first or I will fight first. This son of Radha always boasts of his prowess in battle, comparing it with mine.
When the veritable sea of troops had been arrayed in their proper positions, the grandsire, Bhishma, inspired Duryodhana's heart as follows, O my grandson, today I will take command of your army, for I am well educated in the science of formations. I know all the battle arrays of the celestial lords. With these I will confuse the Pandavas. I will fight the enemy protecting your army according to the rules of military science. Let your doubts be dispelled.
O Grandsire, Duryodhana replied, I have no fear, from even all the demigods and demons united, what to speak of these insignificant sons of Pandu. I now desire, O son of Ganga, to know who, amongst this vast ocean of warriors, are to be counted as rathis and adirathis. You are well acquainted with the prowess of the earth's heroes, and therefore, I, and the kings present, desire to hear this.
Grandsire Bhishma then replied to Duryodhana with the many hundreds of thousands of rathis and adirathis in the divisions of his armies. He named the principal ones one by one to Duryodhana.
However, when mentioning about Karna, Bhishma said, 'Regarding your dear friend, Karna, Surya's son, who is proud of his skill and who is devoid of any good sense, in my judgement he is neither a rathi or an adiratha. He has been stripped of his natural coat of mail and his celestial earrings by Indra. He has been cursed by his teacher, Parashurama, and also by a brahmana. When he challenges Arjuna, he will not leave the battlefield with his life. Therefore, he is, in my judgement, half a rathi.'
Hearing this and knowing the condition set by Bhishma, Radha's son, expanded his eyes in fury, and spoke harshly to Bhishma, O grandsire, these derogatory words have entered my ears like steel arrows. I will tolerate it for Duryodhana's sake. Indicating that I am only half a rathi means you think me a coward. I speak truthfully when I say that you are an enemy to the Kurus. Who else would seek to disunite all the kings present here. Alone, I will decimate the Pandava army.
Addressing Duryodhana, Karna said, I will not, O King, fight as long as Bhishma is alive. After Bhishma has been slain, I will engage in combat with all the maharathis on Yudhisthira's side!
It will be as you wish, Bhishma replied, I have given a promise to you that I will fight on your side, but I will not be able to kill the Pandavas. Protected by Lord Krishna, those heroes are incapable of being slain. There is not a warrior on earth that is equal to me except Arjuna, the son of Kunti. However, he will never seek to fight with me openly. With the power of my weapons, I can destroy the entire world along with all its planets, demigods and demons. The sons of Pandu, being protected by the Supreme Lord Krishna, cannot be killed by me or anyone else. I will, however, slaughter their forces at a rate of ten thousand a day.
There is one other condition on which I will become your commander, Bhishma continued. That is either Karna should fight first or I will fight first. This son of Radha always boasts of his prowess in battle, comparing it with mine.
When the veritable sea of troops had been arrayed in their proper positions, the grandsire, Bhishma, inspired Duryodhana's heart as follows, O my grandson, today I will take command of your army, for I am well educated in the science of formations. I know all the battle arrays of the celestial lords. With these I will confuse the Pandavas. I will fight the enemy protecting your army according to the rules of military science. Let your doubts be dispelled.
O Grandsire, Duryodhana replied, I have no fear, from even all the demigods and demons united, what to speak of these insignificant sons of Pandu. I now desire, O son of Ganga, to know who, amongst this vast ocean of warriors, are to be counted as rathis and adirathis. You are well acquainted with the prowess of the earth's heroes, and therefore, I, and the kings present, desire to hear this.
Grandsire Bhishma then replied to Duryodhana with the many hundreds of thousands of rathis and adirathis in the divisions of his armies. He named the principal ones one by one to Duryodhana.
However, when mentioning about Karna, Bhishma said, 'Regarding your dear friend, Karna, Surya's son, who is proud of his skill and who is devoid of any good sense, in my judgement he is neither a rathi or an adiratha. He has been stripped of his natural coat of mail and his celestial earrings by Indra. He has been cursed by his teacher, Parashurama, and also by a brahmana. When he challenges Arjuna, he will not leave the battlefield with his life. Therefore, he is, in my judgement, half a rathi.'
Hearing this and knowing the condition set by Bhishma, Radha's son, expanded his eyes in fury, and spoke harshly to Bhishma, O grandsire, these derogatory words have entered my ears like steel arrows. I will tolerate it for Duryodhana's sake. Indicating that I am only half a rathi means you think me a coward. I speak truthfully when I say that you are an enemy to the Kurus. Who else would seek to disunite all the kings present here. Alone, I will decimate the Pandava army.
Addressing Duryodhana, Karna said, I will not, O King, fight as long as Bhishma is alive. After Bhishma has been slain, I will engage in combat with all the maharathis on Yudhisthira's side!