Shloka 129
(दृष्टवा कर्ण च पार्थेन बाधितं बहुभि: शरै: । दुर्योधनो महाराज दु:शलं प्रत्यभाषत ।। कर्ण कृच्छूगतं पश्य शीघ्र यानं प्रयच्छ ह । महाराज! कुन्तीपुत्र भीमसेनके द्वारा कर्णको बहुसंख्यक बाणोंसे पीड़ित हुआ देख दुर्योधनने दुःशलसे कहा--'दुःशल! देखो, कर्ण संकटमें पड़ा है। तुम शीघ्र उसके लिये रथ प्रस्तुत करो' । एवमुक्तस्ततो राज्ञा दुःशल: समुपाद्रवत् । दुःशलस्य रथं कर्णश्वारुरोह महारथ: । तौ पार्थ: सहसा गत्वा विव्याध दशभि: शरै: । पुनश्न कर्ण विव्याध दुःशलस्य शिरो5हरत् ।।) राजाके ऐसा कहनेपर दुःशल कर्णके पास दौड़ा गया; फिर महारथी कर्ण दुःशलके रथपर आरूढ़ हो गया। इसी समय भीमसेनने सहसा जाकर दस बाणोंसे उन दोनोंको घायल कर दिया। तत्पश्चात् पुनः कर्णपर आघात किया और दुःशलका सिर काट लिया। इति श्रीमहाभारते द्रोणपर्वणि जयद्रथवधपर्वणि भीमप्रवेशे कर्णपराजये एकोनत्रिंशदधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत जयद्रथवधपर्वमें भीमसेनका प्रवेश और कर्णकी पराजयविषयक एक सौ उनतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
sañjaya uvāca |
dṛṣṭvā karṇaṃ ca pārthena bādhitaṃ bahubhiḥ śaraiḥ |
duryodhano mahārāja duḥśalaṃ pratyabhāṣata ||
karṇa kṛcchrugataṃ paśya śīghraṃ yānaṃ prayaccha ha |
evamuktas tato rājñā duḥśalaḥ samupādravat |
duḥśalasya rathaṃ karṇaś cāruroha mahārathaḥ |
tau pārthaḥ sahasā gatvā vivyādha daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ |
punaś ca karṇaṃ vivyādha duḥśalasya śiro 'harat ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing Karṇa hard-pressed by the Pāṇḍava’s many arrows, King Duryodhana addressed Duḥśala: “Look—Karṇa has fallen into distress. Quickly provide him a vehicle (a chariot).” Thus commanded by the king, Duḥśala ran up. The great chariot-warrior Karṇa mounted Duḥśala’s chariot. At that very moment Bhīmasena rushed in and struck both of them with ten arrows. Then he again assailed Karṇa and cut off Duḥśala’s head. Thus, in the Śrī Mahābhārata, within the Droṇa Parva, in the Jayadratha-slaying section, the one hundred and twenty-ninth chapter—on Bhīma’s entry and Karṇa’s defeat—comes to an end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode underscores how battlefield dharma prioritizes immediate strategic duty over personal safety: loyalty prompts rescue, yet war’s harsh logic makes even aid-givers vulnerable. It also illustrates the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension—human bonds and compassion exist, but in total war they are repeatedly overridden by the imperative to win.
Karṇa is overwhelmed by a Pāṇḍava’s arrows. Duryodhana orders Duḥśala to bring a chariot for Karṇa. Duḥśala runs in and Karṇa mounts his chariot, but Bhīmasena charges, wounds them with ten arrows, and then beheads Duḥśala while continuing the assault on Karṇa.