Shloka 44
हतो वैकर्तन: कर्ण: सपुत्र: सहवाहन: । अर्थिनां पक्षिसंघस्य कल्पवृक्षो निपातित:
śalya uvāca — hato vaikartanaḥ karṇaḥ saputraḥ sahavāhanaḥ | arthināṃ pakṣi-saṅghasya kalpa-vṛkṣo nipātitaḥ ||
ຊາລະຍະເວົ້າວ່າ: «ໄວກັຣຕະນະ ກັນນະ ຖືກສັງຫານແລ້ວ—ພ້ອມລູກຊາຍ ສາລະຖີ ແລະພາຫະນະ. ຜູ້ທີ່ຢືນດັ່ງຕົ້ນກັນປະວຶກແກ່ຝູງຜູ້ມາຂໍ ຖືກໂຄ່ນລົງ. ເມື່ອເຜົາໃຫ້ຮ້ອນຮົນປານດະວະ ແລະປານຈາລະດ້ວຍເດດອາວຸດ, ທໍລະມານກອງທັບສັດຕູດ້ວຍຝົນລູກສອນ, ແລະແຜ່ຊື່ສຽງດັ່ງຕາເວັນພັນລຳແສງ—ກັນນະກໍລົ້ມລົງ»។
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes Karṇa’s famed generosity (likened to a kalpavṛkṣa for supplicants) with the stark finality of death in war. It suggests that personal virtues like dāna and valor do not by themselves avert downfall when one is bound to an unrighteous cause and the destructive momentum of battle.
Śalya announces and describes Karṇa’s fall: after inflicting intense suffering on the Pāṇḍavas and the Pāñcālas with weapon-brilliance and arrow-showers, Karṇa—along with his son and chariot-team—is brought down. The statement functions as both report and lament, marking a decisive shift in the war’s course.