Shloka 23
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
दृष्टवा कर्णोडश्रुपूर्णाक्षो मुहूर्त नाभ्यवर्तत । त॑ गतासुमतिक्रम्य कृत्वा कर्ण: प्रदक्षिणम्
dṛṣṭvā karṇo 'śrupūrṇākṣo muhūrtaṁ nābhyavartata | taṁ gatāsum atikramya kṛtvā karṇaḥ pradakṣiṇam ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing him, Karṇa’s eyes filled with tears, and for a moment he could not act. Then, stepping past the one whose life had departed, Karṇa performed a circumambulation—an act of grave, restrained reverence even amid the harsh duties of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, the epic preserves a moral texture: grief and reverence are not erased by duty. Karṇa’s pradakṣiṇā signals acknowledgment of the fallen—an ethical restraint and a ritualized honor that coexists with kṣatriya obligation.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa encountering a slain figure. Karṇa is momentarily overcome—his eyes brimming with tears—then he moves past the corpse and performs a respectful circumambulation before continuing, indicating a solemn response rather than triumph.