Shloka 23
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
अहो बत महद् दु:खं यत्र पाण्डुसुतान् रणे । नातरद् रभस: कर्णो दैवं नूनं परायणम्,अहो! यह महान् दुःखकी बात है कि वेगशाली वीर कर्ण भी रणभूमिमें पाण्डवोंसे पार न पा सका। अवश्य दैव ही सबका परम आश्रय है
aho bata mahad duḥkhaṃ yatra pāṇḍusutān raṇe | nātarad rabhasaḥ karṇo daivaṃ nūnaṃ parāyaṇam ||
Sañjaya said: “Alas—what a great sorrow this is: that on the battlefield even the impetuous hero Karṇa could not break through the sons of Pāṇḍu. Surely, it is fate (daiva) that stands as the final refuge and deciding power for all.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary valor and effort may fail when opposed by daiva (providence); the verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between human agency and an overarching destiny that shapes outcomes.
Sañjaya laments to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, despite his fierce momentum, could not ‘cross over’ or break through the Pāṇḍavas in battle, interpreting this reversal as evidence that fate ultimately governs victory and defeat.