Shloka 54

Devanagari script

शरैविभिन्नं व्यसु तत्‌ सुवर्चस: पपात कर्णस्य शरीरमुच्छितम्‌

Transliteration

śaraivibhinnaṃ vyasu tat suvarcasaḥ papāta karṇasya śarīram ucchitam

Translation

Sañjaya said: Pierced and torn by arrows, that radiant, lofty body of Karṇa fell lifeless—marking the grim culmination of valor in war and the tragic cost of pride, fate, and duty on the battlefield.

Word by Word

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• विभिन्नम्: pierced, split
• विभिन्नम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-भिद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• व्यसु: lifeless, dead
• व्यसु: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यसु
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सुवर्चसः: the radiant one (Karna)
• सुवर्चसः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवर्चस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पपात: fell
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• कर्णस्य: of Karna
• कर्णस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शरीरम्: body
• शरीरम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• उच्छितम्: raised up, uplifted
• उच्छितम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्-शि
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s sober ethic: even the most radiant hero is subject to mortality and consequence. Martial excellence and fame do not cancel the workings of fate and prior choices; war culminates in irreversible loss, urging reflection on dharma and the true cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa’s body, pierced and torn by arrows, collapses lifeless on the battlefield. It is a stark battlefield image signaling Karṇa’s fall at the climax of the Karṇa Parva conflict.