Shloka 50
तथा कर्ण महेष्वासं पुत्रास्तव नराधिप । उपालीयन्त संत्रासात् पाण्डवस्थ महात्मन:,माननीय नरेश! जैसे कर्म करनेवाले सब जीव मृत्युसे डरकर धर्मकी ही शरण लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपके पुत्र महामना पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके भयसे महाधनुर्धर कर्णकी ही ओटमें छिपने लगे थे
tathā karṇa maheṣvāsaṃ putrās tava narādhipa | upālīyanta saṃtrāsāt pāṇḍavastha mahātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O king, in the same way that living beings, frightened of death, take refuge in dharma, so too your sons—terrified of the great-souled Pāṇḍava Arjuna—began to seek shelter behind Karṇa, that mighty archer.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a moral analogy: just as beings threatened by death instinctively seek the protection of dharma, so frightened warriors seek a protector in battle. It highlights how fear drives refuge-seeking, and it implicitly contrasts true refuge (dharma) with worldly refuge (a powerful fighter).
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava princes, alarmed by Arjuna’s might on the battlefield, cluster behind Karṇa for protection, treating him as their shield against the Pāṇḍava hero.