Mahabharata (Gita Press) 11.21.8 - Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 8
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
अनाधुृष्य: परैर्युद्धे शत्रुभिर्मघवानिव । युगान्ताग्निरिवार्चिष्मान् हिमवानिव निश्चल:ः
anādṛṣyaḥ parair yuddhe śatrubhir maghavān iva | yugāntāgnir ivārciṣmān himavān iva niścalaḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: En la guerra era inabordable para los demás, como Maghavān (Indra) frente a sus enemigos; ardía como el fuego del fin de los tiempos y permanecía inmóvil como Himavān (el Himalaya). Tal era el héroe Karṇa—que se había vuelto refugio para Duryodhana, hijo de Dhṛtarāṣṭra—y ahora yace muerto en la tierra, como un árbol quebrado por la tormenta. El pasaje subraya la inversión trágica de la guerra: incluso el protector más poderoso, firme y radiante, es derribado, dejando duelo, juicio moral y la cruda impermanencia del poder mundano.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of strength and status: even one who seems invincible and steadfast can fall. Ethically, it intensifies the Strī-parvan mood of lamentation and reflection—war consumes protectors and protected alike, forcing survivors to confront the moral cost of ambition and enmity.
Vaiśampāyana describes Karṇa’s former battlefield might through grand similes (Indra-like, end-of-age fire, Himalaya-like) and then states the reversal: Karṇa, who served as Duryodhana’s chief refuge and support, has been slain and lies fallen like a storm-toppled tree.
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