Shloka 316
रथादवप्लुत्य निगृहा दोर्भ्या शशाक दैवान्न महाबलो<5पि । इसी बीचमें मौका पाकर महारथी कर्णने धरतीमें धँसे हुए पहियेको निकालनेका विचार किया। वह रथसे कूद पड़ा और दोनों हाथोंसे पकड़कर उसे ऊपर उठानेकी कोशिश करने लगा; परंतु महाबलवान् होनेपर भी वह दैववश अपने प्रयासमें सफल न हो सका
rathād avaplutya nigṛhya dorbhyāṃ śaśāka daivān na mahābalo 'pi |
Sañjaya said: Leaping down from his chariot, Karṇa seized it with both arms and strove to lift it up; yet, though possessed of great strength, he could not succeed—overruled by fate. In that critical interval, he sought to free the wheel that had sunk into the earth, but destiny thwarted his effort, tightening the moral tension of the battle where human prowess meets the unseen workings of daiva.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human agency and daiva (fate): even extraordinary strength and effort may fail when circumstances are governed by forces beyond one’s control. Ethically, it intensifies the battlefield dilemma—how dharma is tested when advantage arises from an opponent’s misfortune.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa jumping down from his chariot to free or lift what is stuck—contextually, the wheel has sunk into the earth. Karṇa grips it with both arms and tries to raise it, but despite his great power he cannot succeed due to daiva, creating a decisive opening in the combat.