Shloka 16
धर्मरहस्योपदेशः
Dharma-rahasya Instruction: Vows, Truth, and Non-injury
ईदृशं नास्य रूप॑ मे दृष्टपूर्व कदाचन । अभिमनयौ हते कर्ण राक्षसे च घटोत्कचे,कर्ण! अभिमन्यु तथा घटोत्कच राक्षसके मारे जानेपर भी पहले कभी मैंने इनका ऐसा रूप नहीं देखा था
īdṛśaṃ nāsya rūpaṃ me dṛṣṭapūrvaṃ kadācana | abhimanyau hate karṇa rākṣase ca ghaṭotkace ||
Śalya berkata: “Belum pernah aku melihat dia dalam keadaan seperti ini. Wahai Karna, bahkan ketika Abhimanyu terbunuh, dan ketika rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca ditewaskan, aku tidak pernah melihat pada dirinya raut dan keadaan seperti ini.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the visible ‘rūpa’ (expression/condition) of a warrior can reveal inner turmoil beyond ordinary grief, suggesting that some losses or reversals in war strike at one’s moral and emotional foundations more deeply than even earlier tragedies.
Shalya addresses Karna and remarks that he has never before seen the concerned person (implied from context) in such a state—neither at Abhimanyu’s death nor at the killing of Ghaṭotkaca—thereby emphasizing the exceptional intensity of the present moment in the battle narrative.