Shloka 1093
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
शिरश्छेत्स्यति संक्रुद्धः शत्रुरालक्षितो भुवि । “इस जगतके क्षत्रियोंमें यह श्रेष्ठ माना जायगा। शूरवीर सदा इसका सत्कार करेंगे; परंतु अन्त समयमें संग्रामभूमिमें युद्ध करते समय कोई क्षत्रियशिरोमणि वीर इसका शत्रु होकर इसके सामने खड़ा हो क्रोधपूर्वक इसका मस्तक काट डालेगा”
śiraś chetsyati saṅkruddhaḥ śatrur ālakṣito bhuvi |
Sañjaya said: “On earth, a clearly recognized enemy, inflamed with wrath, will cut off his head.” In the narrative frame, the line points to the grim moral logic of kṣatriya warfare: even one who is celebrated among warriors and honored for valor may, at the destined end, meet a violent death on the battlefield at the hands of a rival who stands before him as an enemy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reciprocity of kṣatriya warfare: public honor and heroic reputation do not exempt one from the battlefield’s destined violence; in the end, even the renowned may fall to an enraged enemy.
Sañjaya reports a foretelling/statement about a warrior’s end: a recognized enemy, driven by anger, will confront him in battle and behead him—highlighting the impending fatal turn within the war narrative.