Shloka 25
अर्जुनकर्णसंनिपातवर्णनम् / The Convergence of Arjuna and Karṇa
महारथ: समाख्यात: सर्वयुद्धविशारद: । धनुर्धराणां प्रवर: सर्वेषामेकपूरुष:
mahārathaḥ samākhyātaḥ sarva-yuddha-viśāradaḥ | dhanurdharāṇāṁ pravaraḥ sarveṣām eka-pūruṣaḥ | yaḥ sampūrṇa-yuddha-kalāyāṁ kuśalaḥ vikhyāta-mahārathī dhanurdharāṇāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ sarva-śatrūṇāṁ pradhāna-pūruṣaḥ ca | yaṁ putra-sahitaḥ dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ tava samāgamaṁ prati eva sammāna-pūrvakaṁ nyadhāt | sa mahābalī rādheyaḥ karṇaḥ tvayā kathaṁ hataḥ ?
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Er war berühmt als großer Wagenkämpfer, kundig in jeder Art des Kampfes; der Erste unter den Bogenschützen, ein einzelner Streiter, der allen Feinden überlegen war. Vollkommen geschult in der ganzen Kunst des Krieges, überall gefeiert und von Dhṛtarāṣṭra—zusammen mit seinen Söhnen—gerade dazu geehrt und gehalten, dir entgegenzutreten: Wie konnte jener mächtige Rādheya, Karṇa, von dir erschlagen werden?“
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war: even the most celebrated warrior can fall, prompting reflection on how victory occurs—through skill, circumstance, strategy, and the complex workings of dharma in a conflict where ideals and necessities collide.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions how Karṇa—renowned as an unmatched archer and honored by Dhṛtarāṣṭra to face the Pāṇḍavas—could have been killed by the addressed warrior (contextually, Arjuna), emphasizing Karṇa’s stature and the surprising nature of his defeat.