Shloka 176
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
सोर्डर्जुनेन हत: कर्ण: प्रतिमानं धनुष्मताम् । जो मेरे पुत्रोंका बल था, पाण्डवोंको जिससे सदा भय बना रहता था तथा जो धनुर्धर वीरोंके लिये आदर्श था, वह कर्ण अर्जुनके हाथसे मारा गया
so 'rjunena hataḥ karṇaḥ pratimānaṃ dhanuṣmatām |
धृतराष्ट्र म्हणाला—अर्जुनाच्या हातून कर्ण मारला गेला—तो कर्ण धनुर्धरांचा मानदंड होता, माझ्या पुत्रांचे बळ होता आणि ज्याच्या पराक्रमामुळे पांडव सदैव भयभीत असत.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly power and reputation—even the ‘ideal’ of warriors—are fragile in the face of time and consequence. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s lament implicitly points to the ethical arc of the war: when a cause is sustained by adharma and attachment, even its greatest supports eventually fall, leaving only grief and reckoning.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra receives news that Karna, the chief pillar of the Kaurava side and a terror to the Pāṇḍavas, has been killed by Arjuna. The statement marks a decisive turning point in the Karṇa Parva, signaling a major collapse in Kaurava strength and morale.