Shloka 38
“विजयी अर्जुन आज समरांगणमें धर्मसे दूर रहनेवाले इस पापी सूतपुत्र कर्णने तुम्हारी आँखोंके सामने अनेक प्रमुख पांचालयोद्धाओंका वध कैसे कर डाला? ।। पूर्व देवेरजितं कालकेयै: साक्षात् स्थाणोर्बाहुसंस्पर्शमेत्य । कथं नु त्वां सूतपुत्र: किरीटि- न्नथेषुभिर्दशभि: प्रागविद्धयत्,“किरीटधारी अर्जुन! तुम्हें तो पूर्वकालमें देवता भी नहीं जीत सके थे। कालकेय दानव भी नहीं परास्त कर सके थे। तुम साक्षात् भगवान् शंकरकी भुजाओंसे टक्कर ले चुके हो तो भी इस सूतपुत्रने तुम्हें पहले ही दस बाण मारकर कैसे बींध डाला?
sañjaya uvāca |
vijayī arjuna adya samarāṅgaṇe dharmāt dūraṃ vartamānena asmin pāpī sūtaputreṇa karṇena tava akṣṇoḥ purataḥ anekān pramukhān pāñcālayodhān kathaṃ vadhitāḥ ||
pūrvaṃ devair ajitaṃ kālakeyaiḥ sākṣāt sthāṇor bāhu-saṃsparśam etya |
kathaṃ nu tvāṃ sūtaputraḥ kirīṭin atha iṣubhir daśabhiḥ prāg avidhyat ||
Sañjaya said: “Arjuna, the ever-victorious, how is it that today on the battlefield this sinful Karṇa—son of a charioteer, one who stands far from dharma—has, before your very eyes, slain many of the foremost warriors of Pāñcāla? In former times you were unconquered even by the gods; the Kālakeya demons could not defeat you. You have even come into direct contact with the arms of Sthāṇu (Śiva) himself. How then did this sūta’s son, O diadem-wearing one, manage to pierce you first with ten arrows?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield outcomes can overturn established reputations, and how moral judgment (calling someone ‘far from dharma’) is often intertwined with social insult and partisan grief. It invites reflection on the difference between ethical appraisal and martial capability, and on how shock at reversal leads people to re-evaluate assumptions about merit, destiny, and righteousness.
Sañjaya reports and frames a startling development: Karṇa has slain many leading Pāñcāla fighters in Arjuna’s presence and has even struck Arjuna first with ten arrows. Sañjaya underscores the surprise by recalling Arjuna’s earlier invincibility against gods and demons and his direct encounter with Śiva, making Karṇa’s success appear extraordinary and unsettling.