Shloka 50

Devanagari script

अहं हत्वा रणे कर्ण पुत्रं चास्य महारथम्‌

Transliteration

ahaṁ hatvā raṇe karṇa putraṁ cāsya mahāratham

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Ich habe Karṇa im Kampf erschlagen und auch seinen Sohn — selbst ein großer Wagenkrieger — (ich …).“ Die Zeile trägt die düstere moralische Last des Krieges: Selbst der Fall berühmter Helden und ihrer Erben wird zur bloßen Meldung und zeigt, dass der Sieg in einem Dharma-Konflikt dennoch einen unwiderruflichen menschlichen Preis fordert.

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त्वा (त्वान्त अव्यय), कर्तरि

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• कर्ण: Karna
• कर्ण: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पुत्रम्: son
• पुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अस्य: of him / his
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: —, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• महारथम्: a great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karna
• Karna's son (unnamed here)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of warfare: even when combat is framed as duty, the outcome is the destruction of eminent warriors and their lineage, reminding the listener that victory does not erase the moral and human cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield outcome: Karṇa has been slain, and additionally Karṇa’s son—described as a mahāratha—has also been killed. The statement functions as a stark update within the unfolding war report.