Shloka 53
कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
एवमेष क्षयो वृत्त: कर्णार्जुनसमागमे । महेन्द्रेण यथा वृत्रो यथा रामेण रावण:
sañjaya uvāca | evameṣa kṣayo vṛttaḥ karṇārjunasamāgame | mahendreṇa yathā vṛtro yathā rāmeṇa rāvaṇaḥ, sāmātyabāndhavo rājan karṇaḥ praharatāṃ varaḥ |
サンジャヤは言った。「王よ、かくしてカルナとアルジュナの遭遇において、この大いなる滅びが起こった――ヴリトラが大いなるインドラに倒れ、ラーヴァナがラーマに倒れたように。かく同じく、戦場において打撃を加える者の中で第一のカルナも、家臣と親族を伴って滅びた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield death and mass destruction as part of an epic moral universe where even the greatest warriors fall when the decisive moment arrives. By invoking well-known exemplars (Indra–Vṛtra, Rāma–Rāvaṇa), it underscores the inevitability of consequence and the fragility of power, while also presenting victory as something that must be borne with gravity rather than triumphalism.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a great slaughter occurred in the Karna–Arjuna encounter. He states that Karna—renowned as a foremost striker in battle—was slain along with his ministers and kinsmen, and he heightens the moment by comparing it to famous mythic defeats such as Vṛtra’s fall to Indra and Rāvaṇa’s fall to Rāma.