Shloka 19
कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः
Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array
कैतव्यानामधिप: शूरमानी रणे रणे शत्रुहा राजपुत्र:
kaitavyānām adhipaḥ śūramānī raṇe raṇe śatruhā rājaputraḥ
Sañjaya said: He was the lord of the deceitful, proud of his own valor, and in battle after battle a slayer of foes—the king’s son.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes battlefield excellence with the stain of deceit: it recognizes valor and repeated victory, yet signals that success gained through kaitava (guile) carries ethical weight. In the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, martial glory does not automatically equal dharmic greatness.
Sañjaya is describing a prince as a formidable warrior—proud, repeatedly victorious, and an enemy-slayer—while characterizing him as a leader among the deceitful, foreshadowing or recalling the use of stratagems and morally questionable conduct amid the fighting.