Shloka 316
प्राणयोर्दीव्यतो राजन् कर्णराक्षसयोर्मुथे । राजन! युद्धके जूएमें प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर खेलते हुए कर्ण और राक्षसका वह रात्रियुद्ध दीर्थकालतक समानरूपमें ही चलता रहा
prāṇayor dīvyato rājan karṇarākṣasayor muthe | rājan yuddhake jūe meṃ prāṇoṃ kī bājī lagākar khelate hue karṇa aura rākṣasa kā vaha rātriyuddha dīrghakāla taka samānarūpa meṃ hī calatā rahā |
Sañjaya said: “O King, as though gambling with their very lives, Karṇa and the Rākṣasa fought on in that battle. With life staked like a wager in the dice-game of war, their night-fight continued for a long time, evenly matched, neither gaining a clear advantage.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a perilous ‘dice-game’ where life itself is the stake, highlighting the ethical gravity of battle: valor and duty may compel combat, yet the metaphor underscores how warfare turns human life into a wager, exposing the tragic cost and moral risk inherent in violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa and a Rākṣasa opponent are locked in a prolonged night-fight. The contest remains evenly balanced for a long time, with both combatants fighting as if staking their very lives.