Shloka 433

Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

यदाजौ निहतः: शेते सद्धि:ः समभिपूजित: । हमने सुना है कि क्षत्रियके लिये सबसे श्रेष्ठ धर्म यह है कि वह युद्धमें मारा जाकर रणभूमिमें सो जाय और सत्पुरुषोंके आदरका पात्र बने

Transliteration

yadājau nihataḥ śete saddhiḥ samabhipūjitaḥ |

Translation

Karna sprach: „Wir haben gehört, dass für einen Kṣatriya das höchste Dharma dies ist: im Kampf erschlagen zu werden, auf dem Schlachtfeld zu liegen und dadurch einer zu werden, den die Rechtschaffenen ehren.“

Word by Word

यदाwhen

आजौin battle

निहतःslain, killed

शेतेlies (down)

सत्भिःby the good (people)

समभिपूजितःhonoured, revered

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

kṣatriya (warrior class)

battlefield (raṇabhūmi, implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse upholds the classical kṣatriya ideal: dying while fighting is considered the highest duty, because it embodies courage, steadfastness in one’s role, and earns the esteem of the virtuous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna, speaking in the midst of the war context, invokes traditional warrior ethics to frame death on the battlefield as honorable and dharmic, reinforcing the moral logic of continued combat.