Shloka 19
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
कर्णश्रैव महेष्वास: सर्वशस्त्रभृतां वर: । स गत: परमां सिद्धि यदर्थ परितप्यसे,“तुम जिनके लिये सदा संतप्त रहते हो वे सम्पूर्ण शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ महाधनुर्धर कर्ण भी परम सिकद्धिको प्राप्त हुए हैं
karṇaś caiva maheṣvāsaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṁ varaḥ | sa gataḥ paramāṁ siddhiṁ yadarthaṁ paritapyase ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “And Karṇa too— that great archer, the foremost among all who bear weapons—has attained the highest perfection. It is for him (and such as him) that you continually burn with grief.” The verse reframes sorrow within a moral horizon: even those remembered with anguish have reached their destined consummation, so lamentation should yield to steadiness and discernment.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches restraint in grief by pointing to the departed warrior’s highest attainment: those mourned are not merely lost but have reached their destined perfection, so sorrow should be tempered by understanding of their ultimate state.
Vaiśampāyana consoles the listener by stating that Karṇa—celebrated as the foremost among armed warriors—has attained the supreme siddhi; thus the person who is lamenting for him is urged, implicitly, to release excessive anguish.