Shloka 22
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
आस्थित: प्रबभौ राजन् दीप्यमान इवांशुमान् । नरेश्वर! दुर्मुखके मारे जानेपर कर्ण उसी रथपर बैठकर देदीप्यमान सूर्यके समान प्रकाशित होने लगा ।। शयानं भिन्नमर्माणं दुर्मुखं शोणितोक्षितम्,दीर्घमुष्णं श्वसन् वीरो न किंचित् प्रत्यपद्यत । दुर्मुखका मर्मस्थान विदीर्ण हो गया था। वह खूनसे लथपथ हो पृथ्वीपर पड़ा था। उसे उस दशामें देखकर कर्णके नेत्रोंमें आँसू भर आया। वह दो घड़ीतक विपक्षीका सामना न कर सका। जब उसके प्राणपखेरू उड़ गये, तब कर्ण उस शवकी परिक्रमा करके आगे बढ़ा। वह वीर गरम-गरम लंबी साँस खींचता हुआ किसी कर्तव्यका निश्चय न कर सका
sañjaya uvāca |
āsthitaḥ prababhau rājan dīpyamāna ivāṃśumān |
śayānaṃ bhinnamarmāṇaṃ durmukhaṃ śoṇitokṣitam |
dīrghamuṣṇaṃ śvasan vīro na kiṃcit pratyapadyata |
Sañjaya said: O King, Karṇa, firmly seated, shone forth like the blazing sun. But seeing Durmukha lying on the ground with his vital points shattered, drenched in blood, the hero drew long, hot breaths and could not bring himself to any resolve. The scene reveals how even a hardened warrior, bound to the brutal duties of war, can be arrested by grief and moral shock when confronted with the immediate human cost—especially the fall of one connected to him.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between martial duty and human compassion: even in righteous or obligatory warfare, the sight of a fallen, blood-soaked warrior can suspend resolve, revealing grief and moral weight within kṣatriya action.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa shining on his chariot like the sun, then immediately shows Karṇa’s reaction upon seeing Durmukha lying with vital points shattered and drenched in blood; Karṇa breathes heavily and cannot decide on his next action for a time.