Shloka 3

Devanagari script

स कर्ण त्वं समुत्सृज्य राक्षसेन्द्रमलायुधम्‌ । जहि क्षिप्रं महाबाहो पश्चात्‌ कर्ण वधिष्यसि,“महाबाहो! अतः तुम कर्णको छोड़कर पहले राक्षसराज अलायुधको शीघ्रतापूर्वक मार डालो। पीछे कर्णका वध करना”

Transliteration

sa karṇa tvaṃ samutsṛjya rākṣasendram alāyudham | jahi kṣipraṃ mahābāho paścāt karṇa vadhiṣyasi ||

Translation

Sanjaya sprach: „O Starkarmiger, lass Karṇa fürs Erste beiseite und erschlage rasch Alāyudha, den Herrn der Rākṣasas. Danach kannst du Karṇa töten.“ Der Rat zeugt von Klugheit im Gefecht: erst die unmittelbare, störende Gefahr beseitigen, dann zum Hauptgegner zurückkehren—damit die Pflicht im Krieg wirksam erfüllt wird und nicht aus blinder Erregung.

Word by Word

सःhe (that one)

कर्णO Karna

त्वम्you

समुत्सृज्यhaving abandoned/left aside

राक्षसेन्द्रम्the lord of the Rakshasas

अलायुधम्Alayudha (proper name)

जहिslay!

क्षिप्रम्quickly

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

पश्चात्afterwards

कर्णO Karna

वधिष्यसिyou will slay/kill

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Alāyudha

Rākṣasa (race/group)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Act with disciplined judgment in conflict: address the most immediate and destabilizing danger first, then pursue the larger objective. This aligns with dharma in warfare—effectiveness and restraint over rash fixation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports advice given to a great warrior: do not engage Karṇa right now; instead, quickly kill Alāyudha, the Rākṣasa leader, and only afterward return to the task of killing Karṇa.