Shloka 3
कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः
Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array
न च मृष्यामि राधेयं हतमाहवशोभनम् | यस्य बाह्दोर्बलं तुल्यं कुज्जराणां शतं शतम्,जिसकी दोनों भुजाओंमें समानरूपसे दस-दस हजार हाथियोंका बल था, युद्धमें शोभा पानेवाले उस राधापुत्र कर्णके मारे जानेका समाचार सुनकर मैं इस शोकको सहन नहीं कर पाता हूँ
na ca mṛṣyāmi rādheyaṃ hatam āhavaśobhanam | yasya bāhvor balaṃ tulyaṃ kuñjarāṇāṃ śataṃ śatam ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “I cannot endure it—this news that Rādheya (Karna), the one who lent splendor to the battlefield, has been slain. His two arms possessed strength equal to hundreds upon hundreds of elephants; hearing of his fall, my grief becomes unbearable.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and partiality intensify suffering: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inability to ‘bear’ the news shows the ethical cost of clinging to power and allies in war, even when the conflict itself is rooted in adharma.
After hearing that Karna (Rādheya)—renowned for battlefield prowess and immense arm-strength—has been killed, Dhṛtarāṣṭra expresses overwhelming grief and shock, emphasizing Karna’s heroic stature.