Shloka 41

कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament

Devanagari script

उग्रकर्मा महेष्वासो नामत: कर्मतस्तथा । शाल्वराजो महाबाहुर्भीमसेनेन पातित:,जो महान धनुर्धर तथा नाम और कर्मसे भी उमग्रकर्मा थे, उन महाबाहु शाल्वराजको भीमसेनने मार गिराया

Transliteration

ugrakarmā maheṣvāso nāmataḥ karmatastathā | śālvarājo mahābāhur bhīmasenena pātitaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Der König von Śālva, der mächtige Armträger—ein hervorragender Bogenschütze, berühmt als ‘Ugrakarmā’ dem Namen wie den Taten nach—wurde von Bhīmasena zu Boden gestreckt.“

Word by Word

उग्रकर्माone of fierce deeds

महेष्वासःgreat archer (having a great bow)

नामतःby name

कर्मतःby deeds / in action

तथाalso / likewise

शाल्वराजःthe king of Śālva

महाबाहुःmighty-armed

भीमसेनेनby Bhīmasena

पातितःfelled / caused to fall

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena

Śālvarāja (King of Śālva)

Śālva (kingdom)

Ugrakarmā (epithet/name)

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 highlights the linkage between reputation and conduct—‘Ugrakarmā’ is fierce both in name and deeds—yet in war, renown does not guarantee survival. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: kṣatriya valor and duty unfold within a destructive conflict where even celebrated warriors fall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīmasena has felled the mighty-armed king of Śālva, a renowned great archer known as Ugrakarmā. It is a battlefield update within the Karṇa Parva’s account of ongoing slayings among prominent combatants.