Shloka 15

सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः

Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament

Devanagari script

कर्णिनालीकरदंष्टस्य खड्गजिह्डस्य संयुगे । चापव्यात्तस्य रौद्रस्य ज्यातलस्वननादिन:

Transliteration

karṇinālīkaradaṁṣṭasya khaḍgajihvasya saṁyuge | cāpavyāttasya raudrasya jyātalasvananādinaḥ ||

Translation

ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ರೋಧದಿಂದ ಉರಿದ ಕರ್ಣನು ಮನುಷ್ಯರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಂಹದಂತೆ ಭಯಂಕರನಾಗಿದ್ದ. ಕರ್ಣಿ ಮತ್ತು ನಾಳೀಕ ಬಾಣಗಳು ಅವನ ದಂತಗಳು; ಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಎತ್ತಿದ ಖಡ್ಗ ಅವನ ಜಿಹ್ವೆ. ಧನುಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಎಳೆಯುವುದು ಅವನ ಬಾಯಿ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿದಂತೆ, ಜ್ಯಾ-ಟಂಕಾರ ಅವನ ಗರ್ಜನೆಯಂತೆ. ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆನ್ನು ತೋರದ ಆ ಭೀಕರ ನರಸಿಂಹನ ಕೈಯಿಂದ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಜೀವಂತವಾಗಿ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡವರೇ—ನನ್ನ ಸ್ವಜನರೇ—ಇಂದು ಅಜಾಗರೂಕತೆಯಿಂದ ಹತರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ।

Word by Word

• कर्णि-नालीक-र-दंष्टस्य: of him whose teeth are (like) Karṇi- and Nālīka-arrows
• कर्णि-नालीक-र-दंष्टस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्णि + नालीक + र + दंष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• खड्ग-जिह्वस्य: of him whose tongue is a sword
• खड्ग-जिह्वस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खड्ग + जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• चाप-व्याप्तस्य: of him who is spread/extended with (i.e., by) the bow (drawn)
• चाप-व्याप्तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चाप + व्याप्त (धातु: √आप्/√व्याप् से क्त; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• रौद्रस्य: of the fierce/terrible one
• रौद्रस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• ज्या-तल-स्वन-नादिनः: of him who roars with the sound of the bowstring’s twang
• ज्या-तल-स्वन-नादिनः: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्या + तल + स्वन + नादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

सूत उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Karṇa
• Karṇin (arrow)
• Nālīka (arrow)
• sword
• bow
• bowstring

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how negligence (pramāda) can undo even those who survived the greatest dangers: escaping a fearsome warrior in open battle does not guarantee safety if vigilance and discipline are lost afterward.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sūta narrates a vivid, metaphor-laden portrait of Karṇa as a terrifying battlefield force, then contrasts that past survival with the present tragedy: the speaker’s own relatives, who once escaped Karṇa’s onslaught, have now been killed due to their carelessness.