Shloka 48
अर्जुनकर्णयोरस्त्रविमर्दः — Arjuna–Karna Astra-Engagement and Dharmic Appeal
बोलो, मेरे लिये यह समाचार अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है। वीरवर! तुमने सूतपुत्रको कैसे मारा? मैं वृत्रासुरके मारे जानेपर भगवान् इन्द्रके समान सदा तुम्हारे विजयी स्वरूपका चिन्तन करता हूँ
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | brūhi, mama kṛte eṣa samācāro 'tyanta-durlabhaḥ | vīravara! tvaṃ sūtaputraṃ kathaṃ jaghāna? ahaṃ vṛtrāsura-vadhe bhagavata indrasyeva sadā tava vijayī-svarūpasya cintanaṃ karomi |
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Ceritakan kepadaku—khabar ini amat jarang dan amat berharga untuk kudengar. Wahai yang terbaik antara para wira! Bagaimanakah engkau menewaskan putera si kusir (Sūtaputra)? Sejak Vṛtrāsura ditewaskan, aku sentiasa mengingati dalam hati rupa kemenanganmu, laksana Indra yang mulia.”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary martial success is received within a dharmic framework: victory is not merely reported but ethically and emotionally processed through reverent praise, comparison to mythic exemplars (Indra), and sustained remembrance of the victor’s ‘vijayī-svarūpa’—a model of courage and duty in war.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a celebrated warrior (contextually Arjuna) and urges him to recount the manner in which Karṇa (‘sūtaputra’) was slain. He calls the news rare and precious, and he expresses that he continually contemplates the warrior’s victorious form, likening it to Indra after the slaying of Vṛtrāsura.