Shloka 9
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 2: Karṇa’s lament, vow, and battle preparation after Bhīṣma’s fall
इदं च राधेयवचो निशम्य सुताश्न राजंस्तव सैनिकाश्न ह | परस्परं चुक्रुशुरार्तिजं मुहु- स्तदाश्रु नेत्रैर्मुमुचुश्ष शब्दवत्,राजन! राधानन्दन कर्णकी यह बात सुनकर आपके पुत्र और सैनिक एक-दूसरेकी ओर देखकर शोकवश बारंबार फूट-फूटकर रोने तथा नेत्रोंसे आँसू बहाने लगे
idaṃ ca rādheyavaco niśamya sutās te rājaṃs tava sainikāś ca | parasparaṃ cukruśur ārtijaṃ muhus tad aśru netrair mumucuḥ śabdavat ||
Sañjaya said: Hearing these words spoken by Rādheya (Karna), O king, your sons and your soldiers, looking at one another, repeatedly cried out in grief; and with loud sobbing they let tears stream from their eyes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and human cost of war: even those committed to battle can be shaken by grief and foreboding. It hints that when conflict is driven by unrighteous aims, inner strength collapses into lamentation, revealing the fragility beneath outward power.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after hearing Karna’s words, the Kaurava princes and their troops look at each other and repeatedly break into loud weeping, shedding tears—an immediate emotional reaction within the Kaurava camp.