Shloka 46

Devanagari script

मा कर्ण राक्षसो घोर: प्रमादान्नाशयिष्यति । “मानद! तुम सेनाके साथ सावधान होकर रणभूमिमें कर्णकी रक्षा करो। कहीं ऐसा न हो कि हमलोगोंके प्रमादवश वह भयंकर राक्षस कर्णका विनाश कर डाले”

Transliteration

mā karṇa rākṣaso ghoraḥ pramādān nāśayiṣyati |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Ô Karṇa, que ce rākṣasa terrible ne te détruise pas par notre négligence. Aussi, avec l’armée, demeurez vigilants sur le champ de bataille et protégez Karṇa — de peur que, par notre imprudence, ce démon effroyable n’entraîne la perte de Karṇa.»

Word by Word

माdo not / lest

कर्णम्Karna (as object)

राक्षसःthe demon

घोरःterrible, dreadful

प्रमादात्from negligence / due to carelessness

नाशयिष्यतिwill destroy

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

rākṣasa (unnamed adversary)

army (senā)

battlefield (raṇabhūmi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, outcomes are not attributed only to enemy strength; negligence (pramāda) is portrayed as a decisive moral and practical failing. The verse urges alertness and collective responsibility to prevent avoidable catastrophe.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya warns that a fearsome rākṣasa-like opponent may kill Karṇa if the Kaurava side becomes careless. He calls for coordinated vigilance with the army to safeguard Karṇa on the battlefield.