Shloka 3
कर्ण तु शूरं पतितं पृथिव्यां शराचितं शोणितदिग्धगात्रम् । यदृच्छया सूर्यमिवावनिस्थं दिदृक्षव: सम्परिवार्य तस्थु:
karṇaṃ tu śūraṃ patitaṃ pṛthivyāṃ śarācitaṃ śoṇitadigdhagātram | yadṛcchayā sūryam ivāvani-sthaṃ didṛkṣavaḥ samparivārya tasthuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Karṇa, that heroic warrior, had fallen upon the earth, his body transfixed with arrows and smeared all over with blood. Lying there like the sun that has, by fate’s strange turn, descended to the ground, he became a sight that drew all eyes—people stood around him, encircling him, eager to behold him.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of martial glory: a warrior’s fame can remain radiant even when the body is broken. It also points to the role of yadṛcchā—an unpredictable turn of fate—suggesting that human prowess operates within larger forces, and that the battlefield exposes both the dignity and the fragility of kṣatriya life.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa has fallen on the battlefield, riddled with arrows and covered in blood. His fallen form draws onlookers, who gather around and stand encircling him, as if beholding a sun-like figure brought down to earth by destiny.