Shloka 58
स चित्रवर्मेषुवरो विदार्य प्राणान्निरस्यन्निव साधुमुक्त: । कर्णस्य पीत्वा रुधिरं विवेश वसुन्धरां शोणितदिग्धवाज:,भलीभाँति छूटे हुए उस उत्तम नाराचने कर्णके विचित्र कवचको चीर-फाड़कर उसके प्राण निकालते हुए-से रक्तपान किया, फिर वह धरतीमें समा गया। उस समय उसके पंख खूनसे लथपथ हो रहे थे
sa citravarmeṣuvaro vidārya prāṇānnirasyann iva sādhumuktaḥ | karṇasya pītvā rudhiraṃ viveśa vasundharāṃ śoṇitadigdhavājaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Jener vortreffliche Pfeil, trefflich gelöst, zerriss Karṇas buntes Panzerkleid, als risse er ihm das Leben selbst heraus. Nachdem er sein Blut getrunken hatte, versank er in der Erde—die Befiederung verschmiert und schwer vom Blut.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark ethic of the battlefield: skill and valour operate within an inexorable economy of death. Even a mighty warrior’s splendour (armour, fame) cannot ultimately shield him from mortality; war consumes pride and life alike, reminding the listener of impermanence and the severe cost of adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya describes a powerful arrow (nārāca) striking Karṇa: it rips through his ornate armour as if tearing out his life, drinks his blood, and then disappears into the earth, its feathers smeared with gore—an image of a perfectly loosed missile completing its lethal course.