Shloka 82
कर्णो लोकानयं मुख्यानाप्रोतु पुरुषर्षभ: । कर्णो वैकर्तन: शूरो विजयस्त्वस्तु कृष्णयो:,'शूरवीर पुरुषप्रवर वैकर्तन कर्ण श्रेष्ठ लोक प्राप्त करे; परंतु विजय तो श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनकी ही हो
sañjaya uvāca |
karṇo lokān ayaṃ mukhyān āprotu puruṣarṣabhaḥ |
karṇo vaikartanaḥ śūro vijayas tv astu kṛṣṇayoḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O bull among men, may this heroic Karṇa, Vaikartana, attain the foremost worlds. Yet let victory belong to Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes between personal valor and the ultimate moral outcome: Karṇa may deserve exalted realms for his bravery, yet victory is affirmed for Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, implying that dharma-aligned forces prevail even when opponents are individually heroic.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, voices a reflective judgment: he honors Karṇa’s heroism and possible posthumous reward, but declares that the decisive triumph in the war will belong to Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.