Shloka 34
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
दुर्योधनस्य वृद्धयर्थ योडजयत् पृथिवीं प्रभु: । स जित: पाण्डवै: शूरै:ः समरे बाहुशालिभि:,धृतराष्ट्र बोले--संजय! जिसने हमारे कार्यके लिये युद्धस्थलमें सम्पूर्ण काम्बोज- निवासियों, अम्बष्ठों, केकयों, गान्धारों और विदेहोंपर विजय पायी। इन सबको जीतकर जिसने दुर्योधनकी वृद्धिके लिये समस्त भूमण्डलको जीत लिया था। वही सामर्थ्यशाली कर्ण अपने बाहुबलसे सुशोभित होनेवाले शूरवीर पाण्डवोंद्वारा समरांगणमें परास्त हो गया
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
duryodhanasya vṛddhy-arthaṁ yo ’jayat pṛthivīṁ prabhuḥ |
sa jitaḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ śūraiḥ samare bāhuśālibhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The mighty warrior who, to increase Duryodhana’s power, had conquered the whole earth—was himself defeated on the battlefield by the heroic Pāṇḍavas, men famed for the strength of their arms. The verse lays bare war’s moral irony: worldly expansion pursued for another’s ambition is unstable, and even the most formidable champion can be brought low when opposed by equally valorous—and, in the epic’s ethical frame, more dharmically aligned—adversaries.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the instability of power gained through conquest for another’s ambition: even a ‘world-conquering’ champion can be overturned. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, martial prowess alone is not ultimate; outcomes also reflect the larger moral and karmic order governing the war.
Vaiśampāyana describes a reversal on the battlefield: the powerful warrior who had previously subdued realms to strengthen Duryodhana is now defeated in combat by the heroic, mighty-armed Pāṇḍavas.