Shloka 29
गाण्डीवमुक्तैस्तु सुवर्णपुड्खै: शिलाशितै: शोणितदिग्धवाजै: । शरैश्षिताजड़ी युधि भाति कर्णो हतो<5पि सन् सूर्य इवांशुमाली,गाण्डीव धनुषसे छूटे हुए सुवर्णमय पंखवाले और शिलापर तेज किये हुए बाणोंसे कर्णका अंग-अंग बिंध गया था। उन बाणोंकी पाँखें रक्तमें डूबी हुई थीं। उनके द्वारा युद्धस्थलमें पड़ा हुआ कर्ण मर जानेपर भी अंशुमाली सूर्यके समान सुशोभित हो रहा था
gāṇḍīvamuktaiḥ tu suvarṇapuḍkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ śoṇitadigdhavājaiḥ | śaraiḥ śitāṅgī yudhi bhāti karṇo hato 'pi san sūrya ivāṃśumālī ||
Śalya said: “Pierced all over by arrows released from the Gāṇḍīva—arrows with golden fletching, sharpened on stone, their feathers smeared with blood—Karna lay on the battlefield. Yet even in death he shone there like the radiant sun.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ideal of kṣatriya valor: even when struck down, a great warrior’s presence can retain a kind of dignity and radiance. Ethically, it underscores the tragic grandeur of war—glory and horror coexist, and death does not erase a life’s martial excellence.
Śalya narrates Karna’s condition after being riddled by Arjuna’s arrows shot from the Gāṇḍīva. The arrows are described in vivid detail—gold-fletched, stone-sharpened, blood-smeared—and Karna, though slain, is portrayed as still shining on the battlefield like the sun.