Shloka 47
सदा स्त्रीणां प्रियो नित्यं दाता चैव महारथ: । स वै पार्थस्त्रिनिर्दग्थो गत: परमिकां गतिम्,जिस महामनस्वी कर्णका सारा धन ब्राह्मणोंके अधीन था, ब्राह्मणोंके लिये जिसका कुछ भी, अपना जीवन भी अदेय नहीं था, जो स्त्रियोंको सदा प्रिय लगता था और प्रतिदिन दान किया करता था, वह महारथी कर्ण पार्थके बाणोंसे दग्ध हो परम गतिको प्राप्त हो गया
śalya uvāca | sadā strīṇāṁ priyo nityaṁ dātā caiva mahārathaḥ | sa vai karṇaḥ pārthabāṇanirdagdho gataḥ paramikāṁ gatim ||
Shalya said: “Karna—the great chariot-warrior—was ever dear to women, and he was constantly a giver. Now that very Karna, scorched by the arrows of Partha, has departed to the highest state.” The statement frames Karna’s death not merely as a battlefield event but as the culmination of a life marked by generosity and social esteem, suggesting that virtue (especially dāna) and one’s earned reputation accompany a warrior even at the moment of defeat.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the brutality of war, the epic highlights enduring virtues—especially generosity (dāna) and social goodwill—as defining marks of a person. Karna’s fall is narrated with moral remembrance: his giving nature and esteem are recalled alongside his death, implying that ethical qualities shape how one’s end is understood.
Shalya, speaking after the decisive combat, declares that Karna—renowned as a great warrior and habitual giver—has been struck down by Partha (Arjuna). The verse reports Karna’s death and interprets it as a departure to a ‘highest state,’ giving the event a solemn, evaluative tone rather than a purely tactical one.