Shloka 18
कर्ण दृष्टवा महात्मानं युद्धाय समुपस्थितम् । समस्त सेनाओंके आगे चलनेवाले महाबाहु, महामनस्वी कर्णको आया और युद्धके लिये उपस्थित हुआ देख दुर्योधन आदि समस्त कौरव हर्षसे खिल उठे ।। क्ष्वेडितास्फोटितरवै: सिंहनादरवैरपि । धनु:शब्दैश्व विविध: कुरव: समपूजयन्,उन समस्त कौरवोंने उस समय गर्जने, ताल ठोकने, सिंहनाद करने तथा नाना प्रकारसे धनुषकी टंकार फैलाने आदिके द्वारा कर्णका स्वागत-सत्कार किया
sañjaya uvāca | karṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā mahātmānaṃ yuddhāya samupasthitam | kṣveḍitāsphoṭitaravaiḥ siṃhanādāravair api | dhanuḥśabdaiś ca vividhaiḥ kuravaḥ samapūjayan ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing the great-souled Karṇa arrive at the front, ready for battle, the Kauravas—Duryodhana and the rest—were filled with joy. They honored him with loud acclamations: roars and shouts, the clapping and slapping of arms, lion-like cries, and the many resonant twangs of bows—an outward celebration of their reliance on Karṇa’s prowess as the war’s peril intensified.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how armies and leaders place immense hope in a single champion’s strength; public celebration and martial display become tools to raise morale, even when the ethical stakes of war remain grave and unresolved.
Karṇa comes forward, ready to fight. Seeing him, the Kauravas become delighted and ceremonially honor him with loud shouts, lion-like roars, arm-clapping, and the twanging of bows—signaling their confidence in him at the battlefront.