Shloka 216
कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief
कृत्वा नसुकरं कर्म गता वैवस्वतक्षयम् । प्रजानाथ! और भी बहुत-से पराक्रमी नरेश आपकी सेनाका सामना करते हुए दुष्कर पराक्रम करके यमलोकमें जा पहुँचे हैं
kṛtvā na sukaraṃ karma gatā vaivasvatakṣayam | prajānātha! aur bhī bahut-se parākramī nareśa āpakī senā kā sāmnā karate hue duṣkara parākrama karke yamalokamẽ jā pahũce haĩ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Setelah menunaikan perbuatan-perbuatan yang sukar dicapai, banyak raja perkasa telah pergi ke kediaman Vaivasvata (Yama). Wahai pelindung rakyat, banyak penguasa gagah lainnya pun, ketika menghadapi pasukanmu, memperlihatkan kepahlawanan yang berat dan akhirnya mencapai alam Yama.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s war-ethic: in the kṣatriya context, confronting an enemy army demands extraordinary courage, and death in such arduous action is portrayed as the inevitable consequence of heroic engagement with mortal stakes.
Sañjaya reports to the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) that many powerful rulers, while facing his side’s army, performed difficult feats of valor and consequently fell in battle—described as reaching Yama’s realm (Vaivasvata’s abode).