Shloka 43
वर्षित्वा शरवर्षेण प्रताप्प रिपुवाहिनीम् । श्रीमानिव सहस्रांशुर्जगत् सर्व प्रताप्प च,अस्त्रके तेजसे सम्पूर्ण पाण्डव और पांचालोंको संताप देकर, बाणोंकी वषकि द्वारा शत्रुसेनाको तपाकर तथा सहस््र किरणोंवाले तेजस्वी सूर्यके समान सम्पूर्ण संसारमें अपना प्रताप बिखेरकर वैकर्तन कर्ण पुत्र और वाहनोंसहित मारा गया। याचकरूपी पक्षियोंके समुदायके लिये जो कल्पवृक्षके समान था, वह कर्ण मार गिराया गया
varṣitvā śaravarṣeṇa pratāpya ripuvāhinīm | śrīmān iva sahasrāṃśur jagat sarvaṃ pratāpya ca ||
Śalya berkata: “Setelah menurunkan hujan anak panah dan membakar bala musuh, serta menebarkan sinarnya ke seluruh dunia laksana matahari mulia bersinar seribu sinar—Vaikartana Karṇa, yang telah menyengsarakan para Pāṇḍava dan Pāñcāla dengan segenap daya senjatanya, gugur bersama putranya dan kusirnya. Ia yang bagaikan pohon kalpavṛkṣa bagi kawanan pemohon, kini dijatuhkan.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes immense martial brilliance with inevitable mortality: even a warrior who blazes like the sun and overwhelms armies can fall. It also preserves Karṇa’s ethical reputation for generosity—likening him to a wish-fulfilling tree for supplicants—suggesting that moral qualities (like dāna) remain part of one’s legacy even amid the violence of war.
Śalya describes Karṇa at the height of his battlefield prowess—showering arrows, burning the enemy host, and dazzling the world with fame—yet concludes with his death in the great war, noting that he was slain together with close companions (as conveyed in the received passage) and recalling his famed role as a benefactor to petitioners.