Shloka 11

Devanagari script

पाण्डवसेनाके राजालोगोंद्वारा जब कौरव-सेनाका ध्वंस होने लगा और बड़ा भारी संग्राम आरम्भ हो गया, तब सम्पूर्ण महारथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ कर्ण समस्त श्रेष्ठ रथियोंका हर्ष और उत्साह बढ़ाता हुआ इस प्रकार बोला-- ।। जगत्यनित्ये सततं प्रधावति प्रचिन्तयन्नस्थिरमद्य लक्षये । भवत्सु तिष्ठत्स्विह पातितो मृथे गिरिप्रकाश: कुरुपुड्रव: कथम्‌,] # 77॥॥॥॥ 0 । 7 5 »> रे नल ्ज १780) 2 )9) सदा मृत्युकी ओर दौड़ लगानेवाले इस अनित्य संसारमें आज मुझे बहुत चिन्तन करनेपर भी कोई वस्तु स्थिर नहीं दिखायी देती; अन्यथा युद्धमें आप-जैसे शूरवीरोंके रहते हुए पर्वतके समान प्रकाशित होनेवाले कुरुश्रेष्ठ भीष्म कैसे मार गिराये गये?

Transliteration

jagaty anitye satataṁ pradhāvati pracintayann asthiram adya lakṣaye | bhavatsu tiṣṭhatsv iha pātito mṛdhe giriprakāśaḥ kurupuṅgavaḥ katham ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: As the kings of the Pāṇḍava host began to shatter the Kaurava army and a tremendous battle flared up, Karṇa—foremost among great chariot-warriors—raising the joy and resolve of the leading fighters, spoke thus: “In this impermanent world that is ever rushing onward, even after much reflection today I see nothing stable. Otherwise, while heroes like you still stand here, how could Bhīṣma—radiant like a mountain, the bull among the Kurus—have been struck down in battle?”

Word by Word

जगतिin the world

अनित्येimpermanent

सततम्always, continually

प्रधावतिruns forth, hastens

प्रचिन्तयन्thinking deeply, reflecting

अस्थिरम्unstable, not fixed

अद्यtoday, now

लक्षयेI perceive, I see

भवत्सुamong you (honored ones)

तिष्ठत्सुwhile (you) stand, being present

इहhere

पातितःwas felled, was brought down

मृधेin battle

गिरि-प्रकाशःhe whose splendor is like a mountain

कुरु-पुङ्गवःthe foremost of the Kurus

कथम्how?

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Bhīṣma

Pāṇḍavas (Pāṇḍava army)

Kauravas (Kaurava army)

Kuru lineage (Kurus)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores anitya (impermanence): even the mightiest and most protected can fall. Karṇa frames Bhīṣma’s defeat as evidence that nothing in the world is stable, pushing listeners to confront mortality and uncertainty amid dharma-conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the Pāṇḍava forces begin to break the Kaurava ranks and the battle intensifies, Karṇa rallies the Kaurava great chariot-warriors. He expresses astonishment that Bhīṣma—once the Kauravas’ towering pillar—has been felled despite so many heroes still fighting.