Shloka 66
कर्ण तु शूरं पतितं पृथिव्यां शराचितं शोणितदिग्धगात्रम् । दृष्टवा शयानं भुवि मद्रराज- श्छिन्नध्वजेनाथ ययौ रथेन
karṇaṁ tu śūraṁ patitaṁ pṛthivyāṁ śarācitaṁ śoṇitadigdhagātram | dṛṣṭvā śayānaṁ bhuvi madrarājaḥ chinnadhvajenātha yayau rathena ||
サンジャヤは言った。「矢に貫かれ、血にまみれて大地に倒れた勇将カルナを見て、マドラ王シャリヤは地に横たわる彼を一瞥し、旗印を断たれた戦車のまま、その場を去った。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of martial glory and the ethical strain of war: when a great warrior falls, the bonds of alliance and the demands of duty are tested. It invites reflection on kshatriya-dharma—courage and steadfastness—contrasted with the human impulse to retreat amid catastrophe.
Sanjaya reports that Karna has fallen on the battlefield, his body riddled with arrows and stained with blood. Shalya, the king of Madra (Karna’s charioteer in this phase of the war), sees Karna lying on the ground and then departs in the same chariot, whose banner has been cut down.