Shloka 97
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
संजय! द्रोणाचार्यके मारे जानेपर संग्राममें नरवीर कौरवोंका शत्रुओंके साथ जैसा बर्ताव हुआ, वह मुझे बताओ ।। यथा कर्णश्न कौन्तेयै:ः सह युद्धमयोजयत् । यथा च द्विषतां हन्ता रणे शान्तस्तदुच्यताम्,शत्रुहन्ता कर्णने कुन्तीपुत्रोंके साथ जिस प्रकार युद्धका आयोजन किया और जिस प्रकार वह रणभूमिमें शान्त हो गया, वह सारा वृत्तान्त मुझे बताओ
sañjaya! droṇācārye māre jāne 'pare saṅgrāme naravīra-kuravāṇāṃ śatrubhiḥ saha yathā vyavahāro 'bhavat, tan me vada. yathā karṇaḥ kaunteyaiḥ saha yuddham ayojayat, yathā ca dviṣatāṃ hantā raṇe śāntaḥ, tad ucyatām.
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Sanjaya! Nachdem Droṇācārya erschlagen worden war, sage mir, wie sich die heldenhaften Kurus im Kampf gegen ihre Feinde verhielten. Berichte mir vollständig, wie Karna, der Feindeschlächter, den Kampf mit den Söhnen Kuntīs ordnete, und wie er schließlich reglos auf dem Schlachtfeld zur Ruhe kam.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a moral and narrative problem: after the fall of a great teacher-commander (Droṇa), attention shifts to how leaders and armies ‘conduct themselves’ (vyavahāra) under pressure, and to the inevitable stilling of even the fiercest warrior. It invites reflection on responsibility, the ethics of command, and the transient nature of martial glory.
Vaiśampāyana prompts Sanjaya to recount events after Droṇa’s death: how the Kaurava heroes engaged the enemy, how Karṇa took charge and organized combat against the Pāṇḍavas (Kaunteyas), and how Karṇa—renowned as a slayer of foes—eventually became ‘still’ on the battlefield, i.e., met his end.