Shloka 40
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
पश्य कर्ण रणे पार्थ श्वेतच्छत्रविराजितम् | उदयं पर्वतं यद्वच्छशाड्केनाभिशोभितम्
paśya karṇa raṇe pārtha śvetacchatravirājitam | udayaṃ parvataṃ yadvac chaśāṅkenābhiśobhitam ||
Sañjaya said: “Behold, O Pārtha, Karṇa on the battlefield, resplendent beneath a white royal parasol. He appears like the eastern mountain, made radiant by the moon upon it.” The verse frames Karṇa’s martial presence in regal, cosmic imagery, hinting that outward splendor and honor in war can veil inner peril and the moral strain of fratricidal conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war exalts warriors with signs of honor and grandeur (the white parasol, cosmic comparisons), yet such splendor does not resolve the deeper ethical strain of the conflict; it invites reflection on the difference between outward glory and the inner moral cost of battle.
Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, points out Karṇa’s striking appearance on the battlefield and addresses Arjuna as ‘Pārtha,’ comparing Karṇa’s radiance under a white parasol to the eastern mountain beautified by the moon.