Shloka 45
ददानीत्येव यो5वोचन्न नास्तीत्यर्थितो<र्थिभि: । सद्धिः सदा सत्पुरुष: स हतो द्वैरथे वृष:
dadānīty eva yo ’vocan na nāstīty arthito ’rthibhiḥ | saddhiḥ sadā satpuruṣaḥ sa hato dvairathe vṛṣaḥ ||
Śalya sprach: „Er, der nur sagte: ‚Ich werde geben‘, und der, wenn würdige Bittende ihn anflehten, niemals das Wort ‚Nein‘ über die Lippen brachte — jener stets dharmatreue, wahrhaft edle Mann, Karṇa, der Stier unter den Menschen — ist im Wagenzweikampf gefallen.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal of unwavering generosity (dāna) and truthfulness in intent—being so committed to giving that one never utters ‘no’ to worthy supplicants—while also underscoring the Mahābhārata’s tension between personal virtue and the brutal outcomes of war.
Śalya, speaking in the context of Karṇa Parva’s battlefield events, remarks on Karṇa’s famed liberality and noble character, and then states the stark fact that this celebrated giver has been killed in a chariot-to-chariot duel.