Shloka 4
दुर्योधनस्य कर्णप्रार्थना — कृपकर्णसंवादः
Duryodhana’s Appeal to Karna — The Kripa–Karna Dialogue
पूर्व हि निर्जित: कर्णो भीमसेनेन संयुगे । कथं भूय: स राधेयो भीममागान्महारथ:,भीमसेनने युद्धमें जब राधानन्दन महारथी कर्णको पहले ही जीत लिया था, तब वह पुनः उनका सामना करनेके लिये कैसे आया?
pūrva hi nirjitaḥ karṇo bhīmasenena saṃyuge | kathaṃ bhūyaḥ sa rādheyo bhīmam āgān mahārathaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “For Karṇa had previously been defeated by Bhīmasena in battle. How, then, did that great chariot-warrior, the son of Rādhā, come once again to confront Bhīma?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-ethic of returning to the field despite prior defeat: valor is measured not only by victory but by steadfastness, resolve, and willingness to face a formidable opponent again within one’s perceived duty.
Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, expresses surprise: although Bhīma had earlier overcome Karṇa in combat, Karṇa (called Rādheya) nevertheless comes again to meet Bhīma in battle, prompting the question of how this renewed confrontation occurs.