Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ततः कर्णो महाराज प्रविवेश महद्‌ भयम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ karṇo mahārāja praviveśa mahad bhayam

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Karṇa, O great king, entered into a state of intense fear—an inward turning point amid the battle’s pressure, where even a famed warrior confronts the moral and psychological weight of war.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/अनन्तरार्थे)

• कर्णः: Karna
• कर्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• प्रविवेश: entered
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + विश्
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भयम्: fear, danger
• भयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the most celebrated warrior is not beyond fear; the epic highlights the human interior—how courage and duty are tested by dread, uncertainty, and the moral burden of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, in the unfolding crisis of the battlefield, is overtaken by intense fear—signaling a shift in momentum and the strain of the situation on Karṇa’s resolve.