Shloka 58
जयतामर्जुनं कर्ण इति सूर्योडभ्यभाषत,यह सुनकर सूर्यदेव कहने लगे--“नहीं, कर्ण ही अर्जुनको जीत ले। मेरा पुत्र कर्ण युद्धस्थलमें अर्जुनको मारकर विजय प्राप्त करे।” (इन्द्र बोले--) “नहीं, मेरा पुत्र अर्जुन ही आज कर्णका वध करके विजयश्रीका वरण करे”
sañjaya uvāca | jayatām arjunaṃ karṇa iti sūryo 'bhyabhāṣata | etac chrutvā sūryadeva uvāca—“na, karṇa eva arjunaṃ jayet; mama putraḥ karṇaḥ raṇāṅgaṇe 'rjunaṃ hatvā vijayaṃ prāpnuyāt” | (indra uvāca)—“na, mama putraḥ arjuna eva adya karṇasya vadhaṃ kṛtvā vijayaśriyaṃ vṛṇuyāt” |
Sañjaya dit : «À ces mots, le dieu Soleil, Sūrya, déclara : “Non — que Karṇa triomphe d’Arjuna. Que mon fils Karṇa obtienne la victoire en abattant Arjuna sur le champ de bataille.” Indra répondit : “Non — que mon fils Arjuna, aujourd’hui, tue Karṇa et choisisse la gloire de la victoire.”»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and kinship can shape even exalted beings’ speech: Sūrya and Indra each desire victory for their own son. Ethically, it underscores the tension between personal partiality and the broader moral burden of war, where victory is sought through the death of a worthy opponent.
Sañjaya reports a divine exchange: the Sun-god declares that Karṇa should defeat and kill Arjuna to gain victory, while Indra counters that Arjuna should kill Karṇa and win. The narrative intensifies the Karṇa–Arjuna duel by presenting it as mirrored by their divine fathers’ competing wishes.