Shloka 45

Devanagari script

ददानीत्येव यो5वोचन्न नास्तीत्यर्थितो<र्थिभि: । सद्धिः सदा सत्पुरुष: स हतो द्वैरथे वृष:,जो माँगनेपर सदा यही कहता था कि “मैं दूँगा।” श्रेष्ठ याचकोंके माँगनेपर जिसके मुहसे कभी “नाहीं' नहीं निकला, वह धर्मात्मा कर्ण द्वैरथ युद्धमें मारा गया

Transliteration

dadānīty eva yo ’vocan na nāstīty arthito ’rthibhiḥ | saddhiḥ sadā satpuruṣaḥ sa hato dvairathe vṛṣaḥ ||

Translation

Śalya berkata: “Dia yang hanya berkata, ‘Aku akan memberi,’ dan yang, apabila diminta oleh para pemohon yang layak, tidak pernah membiarkan kata ‘Tidak’ keluar dari mulutnya—orang yang senantiasa berpegang pada dharma itu, insan mulia sejati itu, Karṇa, sang banteng di antara manusia—telah terbunuh dalam duel kereta.”

Word by Word

ददानीति"(I) give"—thus (quoting)

एवindeed/only

यःwho

अवोचत्said/spoke

नnot

अस्तिis/exists

इतिthus (quoting)

अर्थितःhaving been requested/asked

अर्थिभिःby supplicants/beggars

सद्भिःby the good/virtuous

सदाalways

सत्पुरुषःa noble/good man

सःhe

हतःslain/killed

द्वैरथेin the chariot-duel

वृषःthe bull (best man/hero)

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

Karṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical ideal of unwavering generosity (dāna) and truthfulness in intent—being so committed to giving that one never utters ‘no’ to worthy supplicants—while also underscoring the Mahābhārata’s tension between personal virtue and the brutal outcomes of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya, speaking in the context of Karṇa Parva’s battlefield events, remarks on Karṇa’s famed liberality and noble character, and then states the stark fact that this celebrated giver has been killed in a chariot-to-chariot duel.