Shloka 8
कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
तथा पुत्रो विकर्णस्ते क्षत्रव्रतमनुस्मरन् । क्षीणवाहायुध: शूर: स्थितोडभिमुखत: परान्,इसी प्रकार आपका शूरवीर पुत्र विकर्ण क्षत्रियोचित व्रतका स्मरण करके वाहनों और आयुधोंके नष्ट हो जानेपर भी शत्रुओंके सामने डटा हुआ था, परंतु दुर्योधनके दिये हुए बहुत-से भयंकर क्लेशों और अपनी प्रतिज्ञाको याद करके भीमसेनने उसे मार गिराया
tathā putro vikarṇas te kṣatravratam anusmaran | kṣīṇa-vāhāyudhaḥ śūraḥ sthito ’bhimukhataḥ parān |
Sañjaya said: “So too your son Vikarṇa, the hero—remembering the vow proper to a kṣatriya—stood firm facing the foe. Though his mount and weapons were spent or destroyed, he did not turn from battle; yet Bhīmasena, recalling his own vow and the many dreadful hardships wrought by Duryodhana, struck him down.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma as steadfastness in battle even when deprived of support (mount and weapons), while also showing how vows and remembered injustices can drive decisive, even lethal, action—linking personal ethics, duty, and the consequences of prior wrongdoing.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Vikarṇa, though weakened and disarmed, continued to face the enemy in accordance with the warrior’s code; nevertheless Bhīma, remembering his vow and Duryodhana’s past torments, killed Vikarṇa.