Shloka 3

अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्

Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa

Devanagari script

अमर्षी दीर्घरोषश्न महेष्वासो महाबल: । रणे विनिहत: शेते शूरो गाण्डीवधन्चना,शूरवीर कर्ण महान्‌ बलवान्‌ और महाधनुर्धर था। यह दीर्घकालतक रोषमें भरा रहनेवाला और अमर्षशील था, परंतु गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके हाथसे मारा जाकर यह वीर रणभूमिमें सो गया है

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: amarṣī dīrgharoṣaś ca maheṣvāso mahābalaḥ | raṇe vinihataḥ śete śūro gāṇḍīvadhanvanā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Jener Krieger—der Kränkungen nicht ertrug und seinen Zorn lange nährte, ein großer Bogenschütze und von gewaltiger Kraft—liegt nun auf dem Schlachtfeld, im Kampf erschlagen von dem Träger des Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna).“

Word by Word

अमर्षीunforbearing, intolerant

दीर्घरोषःone whose anger is long-lasting

महेष्वासःgreat archer

महाबलःvery strong, mighty

रणेin battle

विनिहतःslain, killed

शेतेlies (down), rests

शूरःhero, brave man

गाण्डीवधन्वाthe wielder of the Gāṇḍīva bow (Arjuna)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Arjuna

Gāṇḍīva

battlefield (raṇa)

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 fragility of worldly might: even a supremely powerful archer falls. It also hints at the ethical cost of sustained anger—dīrgharoṣa—within the larger tragedy of the Kurukṣetra war, where valor does not prevent ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Stree Parva’s lamentation context, the narrator points to a fallen hero on the battlefield, describing his qualities—great strength and archery, yet marked by enduring wrath—and states that he now lies slain by the Gāṇḍīva-bearer, i.e., Arjuna.