Shloka 39
अर्जुनकर्णसंनिपातवर्णनम् / The Convergence of Arjuna and Karṇa
जिस दुष्टबुद्धिवाले कर्णने कौरव-वीरोंके बीच भरी सभामें द्रौपदीसे कहा था कि 'कृष्णे! तू इन अत्यन्त दुर्बल, पतित और शक्तिहीन पाण्डवोंको छोड़ क्यों नहीं देती?” ।।
yo 'sau karṇaḥ pratyajānāt tvad-arthaṃ nāhaṃ hatvā saha kṛṣṇena pārtham | ihopeyāteti sa pāpa-buddhiḥ kaccic chete śara-samabhinna-gātraḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Aquel Karṇa de intención perversa—que, en la asamblea colmada de gente, en medio de los héroes kauravas, dijo a Draupadī: “¡Oh Kṛṣṇe! ¿Por qué no abandonas a esos Pāṇḍavas tan débiles, caídos y sin fuerza?”—y que por ti juró: “Hoy no volveré aquí sin matar a Pārtha (Arjuna) junto con Kṛṣṇa”: ¿yace ahora ese malvado en la tierra, con el cuerpo despedazado por tus flechas?»
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A boastful vow rooted in adharma and cruelty—especially when tied to public humiliation and contempt—invites ruin. The verse highlights moral causality: arrogance and wicked intent meet their end when confronted by steadfast, dharma-aligned resistance.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions Arjuna about Karṇa’s fate. He recalls Karṇa’s earlier insolence and his battlefield vow to return only after killing Arjuna along with Kṛṣṇa, and asks whether Karṇa now lies slain, his body shattered by Arjuna’s arrows.