Shloka 45
ददानीत्येव यो5वोचन्न नास्तीत्यर्थितो<र्थिभि: । सद्धिः सदा सत्पुरुष: स हतो द्वैरथे वृष:,जो माँगनेपर सदा यही कहता था कि “मैं दूँगा।” श्रेष्ठ याचकोंके माँगनेपर जिसके मुहसे कभी “नाहीं' नहीं निकला, वह धर्मात्मा कर्ण द्वैरथ युद्धमें मारा गया
dadānīty eva yo ’vocan na nāstīty arthito ’rthibhiḥ | saddhiḥ sadā satpuruṣaḥ sa hato dvairathe vṛṣaḥ ||
Śalya said: “He who would say only, ‘I will give,’ and who, when petitioned by worthy supplicants, never let the word ‘No’ come from his mouth— that ever-righteous, truly noble man, Karṇa, the bull among men, has been slain in the chariot-duel.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal of unwavering generosity (dāna) and truthfulness in intent—being so committed to giving that one never utters ‘no’ to worthy supplicants—while also underscoring the Mahābhārata’s tension between personal virtue and the brutal outcomes of war.
Śalya, speaking in the context of Karṇa Parva’s battlefield events, remarks on Karṇa’s famed liberality and noble character, and then states the stark fact that this celebrated giver has been killed in a chariot-to-chariot duel.