Shloka 68
सहसतनेत्रप्रतिमानकर्मण: सहस्रपत्रप्रतिमाननं शुभम् | सहसरश्मिर्दिनसंक्षये यथा तथापतत् कर्णशिरो वसुंधराम्
sahasranetra-pratimāna-karmaṇaḥ sahasra-patra-pratimānanaṃ śubham | sahasra-raśmir dina-saṃkṣaye yathā tathāpatat karṇa-śiro vasuṃdharām ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kepala mulia Karṇa—yang perbuatannya seumpama Indra bermata seribu, dan wajahnya laksana teratai seribu kelopak—jatuh ke bumi, sebagaimana cakera matahari bersinar seribu sinar tenggelam di hujung hari. Gambaran ini menandai penutup suatu hayat yang perkasa dalam perang: gemilang dan kuasa ternyata fana, dan bahkan pahlawan teragung pun tunduk kepada hukum terakhir yang mengikat semua makhluk berjasad.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence: even a warrior likened to Indra in prowess and to a lotus in beauty must fall. Martial glory is real yet fleeting, and the moral world of the epic reminds the listener that embodied power ends under the same universal law.
Sañjaya reports the climactic moment of Karṇa’s death: his head falls to the ground. The fall is poetically framed through two similes—Indra (for heroic deeds) and the setting sun (for the inevitable close of a great life).