Shloka 32
कीर्तिहि पुरुषं लोके संजीवयति मातृवत् । अकीर्तिरजीवितं हन्ति जीवतो5पि शरीरिण:,कीर्ति इस संसारमें माताकी भाँति मनुष्यको नूतन जीवन प्रदान करती है। परंतु अकीर्ति जीवित पुरुषके भी जीवनको नष्ट कर देती है
kīrtir hi puruṣaṃ loke saṃjīvayati mātṛvat | akīrtir ajīvitaṃ hanti jīvato ’pi śarīriṇaḥ ||
Karna said: “Indeed, a person’s fame in this world revives him like a mother, granting him renewed life and standing. But disgrace destroys life itself—striking down even one who still breathes in a living body.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fame (kīrti) sustains and renews a person’s social and moral life, while disgrace (akīrti) is portrayed as a living death—eroding dignity, purpose, and standing even if the body remains alive.
Karna is speaking in a didactic, value-asserting mode, emphasizing the warrior-ethical priority of honor and public repute, and warning that dishonor is more destructive than physical death.