Shloka 593
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
स राजकानां सर्वेषां पश्यतां व: किरीटिना । इसी तरह प्रतापी सूतपुत्र कर्ण भी राजाओंसहित तुम सब लोगोंके देखते-देखते किरीटधारी अर्जुनके हाथसे मारा गया
sa rājñāṁ sarveṣāṁ paśyatāṁ vaḥ kirīṭinā | tathā pratāpī sūtaputraḥ karṇo 'pi rājabhiḥ saha yuṣmākaṁ sarveṣāṁ paśyatāṁ-paśyatāṁ kirīṭadhāriṇā arjunena hataḥ |
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «A la vista de todos los reyes —y ante los ojos de todos vosotros— el poderoso Karṇa, el valiente hijo de un auriga, fue asimismo abatido por Arjuna, el de la diadema. La narración subraya el carácter público y presenciado del hecho: en la guerra, aun los más grandes caen ante el destino y ante las consecuencias de las alianzas y actos que eligieron.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of consequence in dharmic warfare: even renowned heroes fall, and their end becomes a public moral record. It also stresses the importance of witnessed truth (what is seen by many) in preserving the ethical memory of events.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Karṇa, famed for valor and known as the sūta’s son, is slain by Arjuna, the diadem-bearing warrior, in the sight of assembled kings and the wider audience—emphasizing the decisive and publicly observed turning point in the battle.