Shloka 66
कर्ण तु शूरं पतितं पृथिव्यां शराचितं शोणितदिग्धगात्रम् । दृष्टवा शयानं भुवि मद्रराज- श्छिन्नध्वजेनाथ ययौ रथेन,शूरवीर कर्णको बाणसे व्याप्त और खूनसे लथपथ होकर पृथ्वीपर पड़ा हुआ देख मद्रराज शल्य उस कटी हुई ध्वजावाले रथके द्वारा ही वहाँसे भाग खड़े हुए
karṇaṁ tu śūraṁ patitaṁ pṛthivyāṁ śarācitaṁ śoṇitadigdhagātram | dṛṣṭvā śayānaṁ bhuvi madrarājaḥ chinnadhvajenātha yayau rathena ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «Al ver al heroico Karṇa caído en la tierra —el cuerpo atravesado por flechas y manchado de sangre—, Śalya, rey de Madra, lo contempló y luego se retiró de allí en su carro, cuyo estandarte había sido abatido».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of martial glory and the ethical strain of war: when a great warrior falls, the bonds of alliance and the demands of duty are tested. It invites reflection on kshatriya-dharma—courage and steadfastness—contrasted with the human impulse to retreat amid catastrophe.
Sanjaya reports that Karna has fallen on the battlefield, his body riddled with arrows and stained with blood. Shalya, the king of Madra (Karna’s charioteer in this phase of the war), sees Karna lying on the ground and then departs in the same chariot, whose banner has been cut down.