Shloka 97
हस्तिकक्षो महानस्य भल्लेनोन्मथितस्त्वया । प्रकम्पमान: पततु भूमावाधिरथेर्ध्वज:,“आज हाथीके रस्सेके चिह्नसे युक्त अधिरथपुत्र कर्णका विशाल ध्वज तुम्हारे भलल्लसे कटकर काँपता हुआ इस पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
hastikakṣo mahān asya bhallena unmathitas tvayā | prakampamānaḥ patatu bhūmāv ādhirather dhvajaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Panji besar Karṇa—bertanda lambang tali gajah—telah dipancung oleh anak panahmu yang tajam. Ia bergetar ketika jatuh; biarlah panji putera Adhiratha itu rebah ke bumi.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how external symbols of status—like a warrior’s banner—can be swiftly brought down in the flux of battle. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical reminder: pride and reputation are fragile, and martial glory is impermanent, subject to fate, skill, and the moral weight of one’s actions.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karna’s large standard, distinguished by an elephant-rope emblem, has been severed by the opponent’s bhalla arrow and is falling, trembling, to the ground—an immediate sign of Karna being struck and symbolically checked in the ongoing duel.