Shloka 14
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
स कथ॑ रथिनां श्रेष्ठ: कर्ण: पार्थेन संयुगे । निहतः पुरुषव्याप्र: प्रसहासहा[विक्रम:
sa kathaṁ rathināṁ śreṣṭhaḥ karṇaḥ pārthena saṁyuge | nihataḥ puruṣavyāghraḥ prasahāsaha-vikramaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Comment Karṇa —le premier des guerriers de char, tigre parmi les hommes, dont la vaillance était insupportable à ses ennemis— fut-il abattu par Pārtha (Arjuna) dans la mêlée ? Par quelle force, et de quelle manière, ce puissant tomba-t-il ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Karṇa’s fall as a moral and narrative problem: when a warrior famed for irresistible valor is slain, the epic invites inquiry into the convergence of human effort (vīrya), circumstance, and dharma in war—suggesting that outcomes are not explained by strength alone but also by the ethical and fated conditions surrounding action.
Vaiśampāyana raises a pointed question about the battlefield event: how Arjuna (Pārtha) managed to kill Karṇa, celebrated as the foremost chariot-warrior. The verse functions as a transition into the detailed account of Karṇa’s defeat and the circumstances that made it possible.