Shloka 38
“विजयी अर्जुन आज समरांगणमें धर्मसे दूर रहनेवाले इस पापी सूतपुत्र कर्णने तुम्हारी आँखोंके सामने अनेक प्रमुख पांचालयोद्धाओंका वध कैसे कर डाला? ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
vijayī arjuna adya samarāṅgaṇe dharmāt dūraṃ vartamānena asmin pāpī sūtaputreṇa karṇena tava akṣṇoḥ purataḥ anekān pramukhān pāñcālayodhān kathaṃ vadhitāḥ ||
pūrvaṃ devair ajitaṃ kālakeyaiḥ sākṣāt sthāṇor bāhu-saṃsparśam etya |
kathaṃ nu tvāṃ sūtaputraḥ kirīṭin atha iṣubhir daśabhiḥ prāg avidhyat ||
Sañjaya dijo: «Arjuna, siempre victorioso, ¿cómo es que hoy en el campo de batalla este Karṇa pecador—hijo de un auriga, alejado del dharma—ha matado ante tus propios ojos a muchos de los más eminentes guerreros de Pāñcāla? En tiempos antiguos no fuiste vencido ni siquiera por los dioses; los demonios Kālakeya tampoco pudieron derrotarte. Has llegado incluso a tocar directamente los brazos de Sthāṇu (Śiva). ¿Cómo, entonces, pudo este hijo de un sūta, oh portador de la diadema, atravesarte primero con diez flechas?»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield outcomes can overturn established reputations, and how moral judgment (calling someone ‘far from dharma’) is often intertwined with social insult and partisan grief. It invites reflection on the difference between ethical appraisal and martial capability, and on how shock at reversal leads people to re-evaluate assumptions about merit, destiny, and righteousness.
Sañjaya reports and frames a startling development: Karṇa has slain many leading Pāñcāla fighters in Arjuna’s presence and has even struck Arjuna first with ten arrows. Sañjaya underscores the surprise by recalling Arjuna’s earlier invincibility against gods and demons and his direct encounter with Śiva, making Karṇa’s success appear extraordinary and unsettling.