Shloka 243
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
वरो महेन्द्रो देवानां कर्ण: प्रहरतां वर: । जैसे घोड़ोंमें उच्चै:श्रवा, राजाओंमें कुबेर और देवताओंमें महेन्द्र श्रेष्ठ हैं, उसी प्रकार कर्ण योद्धाओंमें ऊँचा स्थान रखता था
varo mahendro devānāṁ karṇaḥ praharatāṁ varaḥ | yathā aśvānām uccaiḥśravāḥ, rājñāṁ kuberaḥ, devānāṁ mahendraḥ śreṣṭhaḥ, tathā karṇo yoddhṛṣu ūrdhvaṁ sthānam āsthitaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Unter den Göttern ist Mahendra (Indra) der Erste; und unter denen, die im Kampf zuschlagen, ist Karṇa der Erste. Wie Uccaiḥśravā unter den Pferden, Kubera unter den Königen und Mahendra unter den Göttern der Höchste ist, so nahm auch Karṇa den höchsten Rang unter den Kriegern ein.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches how epic narration uses exalted comparisons to establish a warrior’s stature: Karṇa’s excellence in combat is presented as pre-eminent, like Indra among gods. Implicitly, it also reminds that great power intensifies moral stakes—prowess does not by itself resolve the question of righteous alignment in war.
Vaiśampāyana is describing Karṇa’s standing in the Kurukṣetra conflict, elevating him through analogies to famed supreme figures (Uccaiḥśravā, Kubera, Indra) to emphasize that Karṇa occupies a top rank among fighters at this point in the Karṇa Parva narration.