Shloka 43
वर्षित्वा शरवर्षेण प्रताप्प रिपुवाहिनीम् । श्रीमानिव सहस्रांशुर्जगत् सर्व प्रताप्प च
varṣitvā śaravarṣeṇa pratāpya ripuvāhinīm | śrīmān iva sahasrāṃśur jagat sarvaṃ pratāpya ca ||
Śalya sprach: „Nachdem er einen Regen von Pfeilen niedergehen ließ und das feindliche Heer versengte, und nachdem er seinen Glanz über die ganze Welt ausgebreitet hatte wie die ruhmreiche tausendstrahlige Sonne, wurde Vaikartana Karṇa — der die Pāṇḍavas und Pāñcālas mit der vollen Wucht seiner Waffen gequält hatte — mitsamt seinem Sohn und seinem Wagenlenker erschlagen. Er, der für die Schar der bittenden Vogelgestalten wie ein kalpavṛkṣa gewesen war, wurde gefällt.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes immense martial brilliance with inevitable mortality: even a warrior who blazes like the sun and overwhelms armies can fall. It also preserves Karṇa’s ethical reputation for generosity—likening him to a wish-fulfilling tree for supplicants—suggesting that moral qualities (like dāna) remain part of one’s legacy even amid the violence of war.
Śalya describes Karṇa at the height of his battlefield prowess—showering arrows, burning the enemy host, and dazzling the world with fame—yet concludes with his death in the great war, noting that he was slain together with close companions (as conveyed in the received passage) and recalling his famed role as a benefactor to petitioners.