Shloka 18

कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall

Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra

Devanagari script

रथप्रवीरेण महानुभाव द्विषत्सैन्ये वर्तता दुस्तरेण

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | rathapravīreṇa mahānubhāva dviṣatsainye vartatā dustareṇa | mahānubhāva! bharatavaṃśī nṛpaśreṣṭha! śatrusenāyāṃ vidyamāna-rathīnāṃ pramukha-vīra durjaya sūtaputra karṇena saha | yadi asmin saṃgrāme adya sa mama dṛśyeta, tarhi raṇabhūmau samāgamya ahaṃ tena saha tathā yotsye, yathā vajradhara indraḥ vṛtrāsureṇa saha ||

Translation

Arjuna said: “O noble one, in the enemy host—hard to cross and led by foremost chariot-warriors—there stands the unconquerable hero Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, chief among the rathins. If today, in this battle, he comes into my sight, then meeting him on the field I shall fight him as Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt, fought Vṛtra.”

Word by Word

• रथप्रवीरेण: by/with the foremost chariot-warrior
• रथप्रवीरेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथप्रवीर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• महानुभाव: O great-souled one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानुभाव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• द्विषत्सैन्ये: in the enemy army
• द्विषत्सैन्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विषत्सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वर्तता: is moving/operating
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada, Indicative

• दुस्तरेण: hard to cross/overcome
• दुस्तरेण: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुस्तर
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Karna
• Indra
• Vṛtra
• enemy army (dviṣat-sainyam)
• battlefield (raṇa-bhūmi)
• thunderbolt (vajra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma: a warrior’s obligation to confront the foremost threat directly, with steadfast courage and clarity of purpose, using a mythic exemplar (Indra vs Vṛtra) to frame righteous resolve in battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna declares that within the formidable enemy host the chief chariot-warrior is Karna; if Arjuna sees him today, he will seek him out and fight him on the battlefield with the same intensity as Indra fought Vṛtra.