Shloka 231
कर्णसेनापत्यारम्भः — Karṇa’s Appointment and the Report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Chapter 1
दुर्मरं तदहं मन्ये नृणां कृच्छे5पि वर्तताम् यत्र कर्ण हत॑ श्रुत्वा नात्यजज्जीवितं नृप:
durmaraṁ tad ahaṁ manye nṛṇāṁ kṛcche ’pi vartatām | yatra karṇa-hataṁ śrutvā nātyajajjīvitaṁ nṛpaḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “I deem it almost impossible for men—even when driven by the harshest distress—to endure a state of affairs in which, upon hearing that Karṇa has been slain, a king does not at once cast away his life. Such restraint before so crushing a loss seems beyond ordinary human strength.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the extraordinary weight of grief and shock in dharmic-royal life: some losses are so severe that ordinary human endurance fails. It implicitly praises exceptional self-control (or points to an unusual destiny) when a ruler can continue living despite hearing of a catastrophic death.
Janamejaya reacts to the report of Karṇa’s death and expresses amazement that a certain king, upon hearing that Karṇa was slain, did not immediately die (or renounce life). The line functions as a narrative prompt, emphasizing the magnitude of Karṇa’s fall and the emotional stakes for those connected to him.