Shloka 35
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 2: Karṇa’s lament, vow, and battle preparation after Bhīṣma’s fall
सम्पूज्यमान: कुरुभिर्महात्मा रथर्षभो देवगण्णर्यथेन्द्र: । ययौ तदायोधनमुग्रधन्वा यत्रावसानं भरतर्षभस्य,उस समय देवगणोंसे इन्द्रकी भाँति समस्त कौरवोंसे पूजित हो रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ, भयंकर धनुर्धर, महामनस्वी कर्ण युद्धके उस मैदानमें गया, जहाँ भरतशिरोमणि भीष्मका देहावसान हुआ था
sampūjyamānaḥ kurubhir mahātmā ratharṣabho devagaṇair yathendraḥ | yayau tadā yodhanam ugradhanvā yatrāvasānaṃ bharatarṣabhasya ||
Sañjaya said: “Honoured by all the Kurus, that great-souled hero—foremost among chariot-warriors—went then to the battlefield, like Indra among the hosts of gods. The fierce archer Karṇa proceeded to that very ground where Bhīṣma, the bull among the Bharatas, had met his end.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between worldly honor and the moral weight of war: even a celebrated warrior, praised like Indra, advances onto a field marked by the death of a venerable elder. It invites reflection on how acclaim and duty can propel action despite the evident cost in lives and righteousness.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa, honoured by the Kauravas, setting out for the battlefield. He goes to the very place where Bhīṣma—renowned as the foremost of the Bharatas—has already met his end, situating the next phase of fighting in the shadow of Bhīṣma’s fall.