Shloka 32

Devanagari script

कीर्तिहि पुरुषं लोके संजीवयति मातृवत्‌ । अकीर्तिरजीवितं हन्ति जीवतो5पि शरीरिण:,कीर्ति इस संसारमें माताकी भाँति मनुष्यको नूतन जीवन प्रदान करती है। परंतु अकीर्ति जीवित पुरुषके भी जीवनको नष्ट कर देती है

Transliteration

kīrtir hi puruṣaṃ loke saṃjīvayati mātṛvat | akīrtir ajīvitaṃ hanti jīvato ’pi śarīriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Karna sagte: „Wahrlich, der Ruhm eines Menschen in dieser Welt belebt ihn wie eine Mutter und schenkt ihm neues Leben und neuen Stand. Doch Schande vernichtet das Leben selbst — sie streckt sogar den nieder, der noch in einem lebenden Körper atmet.“

Word by Word

कीर्तिःfame, good repute

हिindeed, for

पुरुषम्man, person

लोकेin the world

संजीवयतिrevives, gives life to

मातृवत्like a mother

अकीर्तिःill-fame, disgrace

अजीवितम्non-life; (as) death, lifelessness

हन्तिkills, destroys

जीवतःof a living (person/being)

अपिeven, also

शरीरिणःof an embodied being, of a person

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fame (kīrti) sustains and renews a person’s social and moral life, while disgrace (akīrti) is portrayed as a living death—eroding dignity, purpose, and standing even if the body remains alive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking in a didactic, value-asserting mode, emphasizing the warrior-ethical priority of honor and public repute, and warning that dishonor is more destructive than physical death.