Shloka 513
स कथं निहतो वीर: पार्थेन परवीरहा । 'संशप्तकोंमेंसे जो योद्धा सदा मुझे दूसरी ओर युद्धके लिये बुलाया करते हैं, इन्हें पहले मारकर पीछे वैकर्तन कर्णका रणभूमिमें वध करूँगा।” ऐसा बहाना बनाकर अर्जुन जिस सूतपुत्रको युद्धस्थलमें छोड़ दिया करते थे, उसी शत्रुवीरोंके संहारक वीरवर कर्णको अर्जुनने किस प्रकार मारा?
sa kathaṁ nihato vīraḥ pārthena paravīrahā |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “How was that heroic slayer of enemy-champions—Karna—killed by Pārtha (Arjuna)? For Arjuna had often deferred the direct encounter with the charioteer’s son, saying as a pretext, ‘First I shall destroy the Saṃśaptakas who constantly challenge me to battle; afterward I will kill Vaikartana Karna on the battlefield.’ In what manner, then, did Arjuna finally bring down that foremost warrior, the destroyer of hostile heroes?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-narrative tension: a renowned hero (Karna) is not merely defeated, but his death demands explanation because of his stature and Arjuna’s earlier postponements. It invites reflection on how vows, strategy, and circumstance intersect with dharma in war—especially when the fall of a great warrior seems to require moral and causal clarification.
The narrator (Vaiśaṃpāyana) poses a pointed question: despite Arjuna repeatedly claiming he would first eliminate the Saṃśaptakas and only then kill Karna, how did Arjuna actually manage to slay Karna, the famed destroyer of enemy champions? The verse functions as a transition into the account of Karna’s death.