Shloka 32
यः सर्वतः पर्यपतत्त्वदर्थे सदार्चितो गर्वित: सूतपुत्र: । स शूरमानी समरे समेत्य कच्चित्त्वया निहत: संयुगेडसौ,जो सदा सम्मानित होकर घमंडमें भरा हुआ सूतपुत्र तुम्हारे लिये सब ओर धावा किया करता था, अपनेको शूरवीर माननेवाले उस कर्णको समरांगणमें उसके साथ युद्ध करके क्या तुमने मार डाला है?
yaḥ sarvataḥ paryapatat tvad-arthe sadārcito garvitaḥ sūta-putraḥ | sa śūra-mānī samare sametya kaccit tvayā nihataḥ saṃyuge 'sau ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “That charioteer’s son—ever honored and swollen with pride—who used to rush at you from every side with the sole aim of bringing you down: when you met him in battle, that self-styled hero Karṇa, have you truly slain him in the thick of the fight?”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how social honor and martial reputation can inflate pride, yet in dharma-driven war even the most celebrated warrior must face accountability and mortality. It also shows Yudhiṣṭhira’s ethical anxiety—seeking certainty about a grave act (the killing of Karṇa) rather than celebrating it.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions a warrior (contextually, the Pāṇḍava side) about whether Karṇa—described as the proud, ever-honored ‘sūtaputra’ who repeatedly attacked—has been killed after being met directly in battle.