Shloka 32

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

कर्णश्र निहत: संख्ये दिव्यास्त्रज्ञो महाबल:,जहाँ दिव्यास्त्रोंका ज्ञान रखनेवाला महाबली कर्ण युद्धमें मारा गया, जहाँ समरांगणमें भूरिश्रवा, सोमदत्त तथा महाराज बाह्लिकका संहार हो गया, वहाँ भाग्यके सिवा दूसरा क्या कारण बताया जा सकता है?

Transliteration

karṇaś ca nihataḥ saṅkhye divyāstrajño mahābalaḥ | yatra divyāstrāṇāṃ jñānaṃ dhārayan mahābalī karṇo yuddhe māritaḥ, yatra samarāṅgaṇe bhūriśravāḥ somadattaś ca mahārājo bāhlikaś ca saṃhṛtaḥ, tatra bhāgyāt paraṃ kāraṇaṃ kim anyad vaktuṃ śakyate ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra berkata: Tatkala Karṇa—perkasa lagi mahir akan senjata-senjata ilahi—tewas di medan perang; tatkala di gelanggang yang sama Bhūriśravas, Somadatta, dan Raja Bāhlika turut binasa—apakah sebab lain yang dapat disebut selain takdir?

Word by Word

• कर्णः: Karna
• कर्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• निहतः: slain
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• सङ्ख्ये: in battle
• सङ्ख्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्ख्य
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• दिव्य: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अस्त्र: weapons (missiles)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• ज्ञः: knower
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञ (from √ज्ञा/√ज् ा in sense 'to know')
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क (agentive/possessive suffix)

• महाबलः: of great strength
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Karṇa
• Bhūriśravas
• Somadatta
• Bāhlika
• divyāstras (celestial weapons)
• samarāṅgaṇa (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between human effort (strength, skill, even divine weapon-knowledge) and the overwhelming force of bhāgya (fate). Dhṛtarāṣṭra interprets catastrophic losses as evidence that outcomes in war can exceed rational explanation, prompting reflection on destiny, karma, and the limits of power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the great Kaurava losses, lists major warriors—Karṇa, Bhūriśravas, Somadatta, and Bāhlika—who have been killed. He concludes that such a collapse cannot be explained by ordinary causes and attributes it to fate.