Shloka 46
अर्जुनकर्णसंनिपातवर्णनम् / The Convergence of Arjuna and Karṇa
यः शस्त्रभृच्छेष्ठतम: पृथिव्यां पितामहं व्याक्षिपदल्पचेता: । संख्यायमानो<र्थरथ: स कच्चित् त्वया हतोड्द्याधिरथिमहात्मन्
yāḥ śastrabhṛcchreṣṭhatamaḥ pṛthivyāṃ pitāmahaṃ vyākṣipad alpacetāḥ | saṅkhyāyamāno 'rdharathaḥ sa kaccit tvayā hato 'dhyādhirathimahātman ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Ist heute durch dich jener Sohn des Adhiratha gefallen — der auf Erden einst als der Vortrefflichste unter den Waffenträgern galt, der aber in seiner Torheit den Ahn Bhīṣma verunglimpfte, als man ihn nur als einen ‚Halbwagen-Krieger‘ zählte — o Großherziger?“
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech and pride in war: even a celebrated warrior can be morally diminished by foolish contempt for elders and by disparaging a revered figure like Bhīṣma. Martial excellence is not presented as sufficient without restraint, respect, and right conduct.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions a great warrior (contextually, Arjuna) about whether Karṇa has been slain. He identifies Karṇa by recalling his fame as a supreme fighter and his earlier reproach of Bhīṣma when Bhīṣma was being classed as an ‘ardharatha’—a lower martial rank—thus framing Karṇa’s death inquiry with a moral recollection of his past insult.