Shloka 83

Devanagari script

ततो रथो घूर्णितवान्‌ नरेन्द्र शापात्तदा ब्राह्मणसत्तमस्य | ततश्नक्रमपतत्तस्य भूमौ स विदह्धल: समरे सूतपुत्र:

Transliteration

tato ratho ghūrṇitavān narendra śāpāt tadā brāhmaṇasattamasya | tataś cakram apatat tasya bhūmau sa viddhah samare sūtaputraḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Da begann, o König, sein Wagen zu schwanken und zu taumeln, durch den Fluch jenes erhabensten Brahmanen. Darauf fiel das Rad seines Streitwagens zu Boden, und der Sohn des Wagenlenkers—Karna—wurde in der Schlacht niedergeworfen.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

रथःchariot

घूर्णितवान्turned/whirled (became unsteady)

नरेन्द्रO king (lord of men)

शापात्because of the curse; from the curse

तदाat that time

ब्राह्मणसत्तमस्यof the best of Brahmins

ततःthen

चक्रंwheel

अपतत्fell down

तस्यof him/its

भूमौon the ground

सःhe

विवृद्धबलःwhose strength was increased; very strong

समरेin battle

सूतपुत्रःthe charioteer’s son (Karna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (narendra, implied addressee)

Karna (sūtaputraḥ)

a foremost Brahmin (brāhmaṇasattama, source of the curse)

chariot (ratha)

wheel (cakra)

battlefield (samara)

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 highlights the Mahābhārata theme that actions and moral breaches can bear fruit later through seemingly external forces—here, a Brahmin’s curse—so that even a mighty warrior may become vulnerable at the critical moment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Karna’s chariot becomes unsteady due to a Brahmin’s curse; its wheel drops to the ground, and in that helpless state Karna is struck down in the battle.