Shloka 163

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

मातड़ इव मनत्तेन ड्विपेन्द्रेण निपातित: । जैसे मतवाले गजराजद्दवारा गिराया हुआ हाथी पड़ा हो, उसी प्रकार कर्ण खूनसे लथपथ होकर अवश्य इस पृथ्वीकी शोभा बढ़ाता हुआ सो रहा है

Transliteration

Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca — mattad iva manattvena dvipendreṇa nipātitaḥ | yathā matavāle gajarājena nipātitaḥ hastī patitaḥ syāt, tathā Karṇaḥ śoṇitena liptāṅgaḥ pṛthivyāḥ śobhāṃ vardhayan niścitameva śete |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Wie ein Elefant, den ein vom Rausch der Brunft toll gewordener Elefantenfürst niederstreckt, so liegt Karṇa—sein Leib mit Blut verschmiert—hingestreckt auf der Erde, als verliehe er selbst im Tod dem Schlachtfeld noch eine düstere Pracht.“

Word by Word

मातङ्गःelephant

इवlike/as

मदात्तेनby one intoxicated (with musth/pride)

द्विपेन्द्रेणby the lord of elephants (elephant-king)

निपातितःfelled/caused to fall

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

ध

धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

क

कर्ण (Karṇa)

द

द्विपेन्द्र / गजराज (lord of elephants)

प

पृथ्वी (earth)

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 underscores the moral cost of war: even the greatest warrior’s power ends in helplessness, and ‘glory’ gained through violence culminates in blood and silence. It invites reflection on dharma—how ambition and loyalty in adharma-driven conflict lead to inevitable suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes Karṇa lying on the battlefield, blood-smeared and fallen, comparing him to an elephant brought down by a stronger, rut-maddened elephant—an image emphasizing Karṇa’s might and the finality of his defeat.