Shloka 3
कर्ण तु शूरं पतितं पृथिव्यां शराचितं शोणितदिग्धगात्रम् । यदृच्छया सूर्यमिवावनिस्थं दिदृक्षव: सम्परिवार्य तस्थु:
karṇaṃ tu śūraṃ patitaṃ pṛthivyāṃ śarācitaṃ śoṇitadigdhagātram | yadṛcchayā sūryam ivāvani-sthaṃ didṛkṣavaḥ samparivārya tasthuḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。英雄カルナは大地に倒れ、身は無数の矢に貫かれ、血にまみれていた。そこに横たわるさまは、宿命の奇しきめぐりによって太陽が地上へ降りたかのようで、万人の目を引く光景となった。人々は彼の亡骸を取り囲み、見届けようと立ち尽くした。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of martial glory: a warrior’s fame can remain radiant even when the body is broken. It also points to the role of yadṛcchā—an unpredictable turn of fate—suggesting that human prowess operates within larger forces, and that the battlefield exposes both the dignity and the fragility of kṣatriya life.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa has fallen on the battlefield, riddled with arrows and covered in blood. His fallen form draws onlookers, who gather around and stand encircling him, as if beholding a sun-like figure brought down to earth by destiny.