Shloka 49
(यथैकेन त्वया पूर्व कृतो दिग्विजय: पुरा । मरुत्सूनोर्यथा सूनुर्घातित: शक्रदत्तया ।।
yathaikena tvayā pūrvaṁ kṛto digvijayaḥ purā | marutsūnor yathā sūnur ghātitaḥ śakradattayā || tad etat sarvam ālambya jahi pārtha dhanañjayam || karṇa uvāca—prakṛtistho ’si me śalya idānīṁ sammataḥ tathā | pratibhāsi mahābāho mā bhaiṣīs tvaṁ dhanañjayāt ||
Karna sprach: „So wie du einst allein die Eroberung aller Himmelsrichtungen vollbrachtest, und so wie der Sohn Bhīmas — Ghaṭotkaca — durch das göttliche Geschoss fiel, das Indra verliehen hatte, so auch jetzt: gestützt auf dieselbe Fülle von Kraft und Heldenmut, strecke Pārtha Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) nieder.“ Dann fügte Karna hinzu: „Śalya, nun scheinst du in deiner wahren Wesensart gefestigt und mit mir einverstanden. Mächtigarmiger, fürchte Dhanañjaya nicht.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warriors in the epic draw moral and psychological strength from precedent: past victories and decisive acts are invoked to remove hesitation. It also shows the ethical tension of war—confidence and duty are emphasized, while the means (divine weapons, remembered killings) are treated as legitimizing support for present action.
Karna urges his charioteer Śalya to support him wholeheartedly and not to intimidate him with Arjuna’s prowess. He recalls earlier feats—conquest of directions and the slaying of Ghaṭotkaca with Indra’s gifted śakti—as a basis to press for the decisive goal: killing Arjuna in the ongoing battle.