Shloka 15
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
विरथं त॑ नरश्रेष्ठ दृष्टवका55घिरथिमाहवे,त॑ रथेन नरश्रेष्ठं सम्पादय महारथम् । राजन! नरश्रेष्ठ कर्णको युद्धस्थलमें रथहीन खड़ा देख दुर्योधनने अपने भाई दुर्मुखसे कहा--*दुर्मुख! यह राधानन्दन कर्ण भीमसेनके द्वारा रथसे वंचित कर दिया गया है। इस महारथी नरश्रेष्ठ वीरको रथसे सम्पन्न करो”
sañjaya uvāca | virathaṃ taṃ naraśreṣṭhaṃ dṛṣṭvā kārṇam āhave, taṃ rathena naraśreṣṭhaṃ sampādaya mahāratham | rājan! naraśreṣṭhaṃ karṇakaṃ yuddhasthale rathahīnaṃ sthitaṃ dṛṣṭvā duryodhanas tasya bhrātaraṃ durmukham uvāca— “durmukha! eṣa rādhānandanaḥ karṇo bhīmasenena rathād vañcitaḥ; imaṃ mahārathiṃ naraśreṣṭhaṃ vīraṃ rathena sampādaya” |
Sañjaya said: Seeing Karna, the best of men, standing in battle without a chariot, Duryodhana spoke to his brother Durmukha: “Durmukha, this Karna, son of Radha, has been deprived of his chariot by Bhīmasena. Provide this great chariot-warrior—this foremost hero—with a chariot.” The moment underscores the battlefield ethic of sustaining one’s ally and restoring a warrior’s capacity to fight, even amid relentless violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, a ruler’s responsibility includes sustaining and protecting allies: Duryodhana immediately seeks to restore Karna’s fighting capacity. The verse highlights loyalty and the practical ethics of supporting one’s side, while also revealing how warfare depends on resources and coordination, not only personal valor.
Karna has been made chariotless by Bhimasena on the battlefield. Seeing this, Duryodhana instructs his brother Durmukha to provide Karna with a chariot so that the great warrior can re-enter combat effectively.