Shloka 286
कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief
आयुधक्षयमासाद्य प्रशान्तिं परमां गत: । महाराज! जैसे पूर्णिमाके दिन समुद्र उमड़ पड़ता है
āyudhakṣayam āsādya praśāntiṃ paramāṃ gataḥ | mahārāja! yathā pūrṇimāyāṃ dine samudra udmapatati, tathā vṛddhakṣemasya putro 'pi yuddhe uddhato 'bhavat; kintu tasya sarve 'strāṇi śastrāṇi ca naṣṭāni, tasmāt sa prāṇaśūnyaḥ san sadā-kṛte paramāṃ śāntim agamat |
Sañjaya sprach: „O großer König! Als er die Erschöpfung seiner Waffen erreicht hatte, ging er in die höchste Stille ein. Wie der Ozean am Tage des Vollmonds anschwillt, so bäumte sich auch der Sohn Vṛddhakṣemas in der Schlacht mit wildem Eifer auf; doch als all seine Geschosse und Waffen vernichtet waren, sank er leblos dahin und trat in dauernden, höchsten Frieden ein.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of martial power: even a warrior who surges with confidence like the ocean at full moon is brought to an end when his means of violence are exhausted. The phrase “supreme peace” functions as a sober reminder that death is the final cessation of conflict, inviting reflection on restraint, limits, and the cost of war.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the son of Vṛddhakṣema fought with great ferocity, but once his weapons—both missiles (astra) and hand-weapons (śastra)—were destroyed, he was slain. The narration uses a full-moon ocean-swell simile to convey the warrior’s sudden surge of battle-fury before his fall.