Shloka 12
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
पुत्राणां तस्य बालानां कुमाराणां यशस्विनाम्
putrāṇāṃ tasya bālānāṃ kumārāṇāṃ yaśasvinām
قال سنجيا: لقد تحدّث عن أبنائه—وهم بعدُ غلمانٌ صغار، لا يعدون أن يكونوا أمراء فتية—ومع ذلك فقد ذاعت شهرتهم؛ فكان مجدهم وبشائر مستقبلهم يقفان في مفارقة موجعة أمام مطالب الحرب القاسية.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the vulnerability of youth and the fragility of worldly glory: even the ‘illustrious’ young princes are not protected from the consequences of war, prompting reflection on responsibility and the human cost of conflict.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, refers to someone’s sons who are still young princes yet already famed—setting an emotional and evaluative frame for the surrounding account of battlefield events.