Shloka 50
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय १) — भीष्मनिधनानन्तरं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः, सेनायाः स्थितिः, कर्णस्मरणं च
Droṇa Parva, Chapter 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief after Bhīṣma’s fall and the army’s reorientation toward Karṇa
धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--संजय! जब तुमलोगोंका मन विकर्तनपुत्र कर्णकी ओर गया, तब क्या तुमने शरीर निछावर करनेवाले सूतपुत्र राधानन्दन कर्णको वहाँ देखा? ।। अपि तन्न मृषाकार्षीत् कच्चित् सत्यपराक्रम: । सम्भ्रान्तानां तदारततानां त्रस्तानां त्राणमिच्छताम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca—Sañjaya! yadā yuṣmākaṁ manaḥ Vikatana-putra Karṇasya prati gataṁ, tadā kiṁ yūyaṁ tatra śarīra-nikṣepaṇa-śīlaṁ sūta-putraṁ Rādhā-nandanaṁ Karṇaṁ dadarśitha? api tan na mṛṣākārṣīt kaccit satya-parākramaḥ; sambhrāntānāṁ tadā ratatānāṁ trastānāṁ trāṇam icchatām.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, when your attention turned toward Karṇa, the son of Vikarṭana, did you then see there Karṇa—Rādhā’s son, the charioteer’s son—one who is ready to lay down his very body? Surely that man of proven valour did not act falsely, did he? At that moment, for those who were bewildered, hard-pressed, and terrified—longing for protection—did he seek to be their refuge?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच