Shloka 50

Devanagari script

तथा कर्ण महेष्वासं पुत्रास्तव नराधिप । उपालीयन्त संत्रासात्‌ पाण्डवस्थ महात्मन:,माननीय नरेश! जैसे कर्म करनेवाले सब जीव मृत्युसे डरकर धर्मकी ही शरण लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपके पुत्र महामना पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके भयसे महाधनुर्धर कर्णकी ही ओटमें छिपने लगे थे

Transliteration

tathā karṇa maheṣvāsaṃ putrās tava narādhipa | upālīyanta saṃtrāsāt pāṇḍavastha mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, wie Lebewesen, vom Tod erschreckt, Zuflucht im Dharma suchen, so begannen auch deine Söhne—voll Furcht vor Arjuna, dem großherzigen Pāṇḍava—Schutz hinter Karṇa zu suchen, jenem mächtigen Bogenschützen.“

Word by Word

तथाthus, in the same way

कर्णO Karna

महेष्वासम्the great bowman

पुत्राःsons

तवyour

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

उपालीयन्तthey took refuge (they sheltered themselves)

संत्रासात्from fear, out of terror

पाण्डवस्यof the Pandava

महात्मनःof the great-souled one

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Karna

Arjuna

Kaurava princes (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons)

Pāṇḍavas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a moral analogy: just as beings threatened by death instinctively seek the protection of dharma, so frightened warriors seek a protector in battle. It highlights how fear drives refuge-seeking, and it implicitly contrasts true refuge (dharma) with worldly refuge (a powerful fighter).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava princes, alarmed by Arjuna’s might on the battlefield, cluster behind Karṇa for protection, treating him as their shield against the Pāṇḍava hero.