Shloka 14
Adhyāya 5 (Śānti-parva): Nārada’s account of Karṇa—Jarāsandha encounter and the causal grounds of Karṇa’s fall
अस्त्राणि दिव्यान्यादाय युधि गाण्डीवधन्चना । हतो वैकर्तन: कर्णो दिवाकरसमझ्युति:,इधर, गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनने रुद्र, देवराज इन्द्र, यम, वरुण, कुबेर, द्रोणाचार्य तथा महात्मा कृपके दिये हुए दिव्यास्त्र प्राप्त कर लिये थे; इसीलिये युद्धमें उन्होंने सूर्यके समान तेजस्वी वैकर्तन कर्णका वध किया
astrāṇi divyāny ādāya yudhi gāṇḍīvadhanvanā | hato vaikartanaḥ karṇo divākarasama-dyutiḥ ||
Nārada berkata: Setelah mengangkat senjata-senjata ilahi, Arjuna—pengguna Gāṇḍīva—telah menewaskan Karṇa Vaikartana di medan perang, yang sinarnya laksana matahari.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the decisive power of divinely empowered knowledge and weaponry when rightly acquired and applied, while also reminding the reader that war consumes even the most radiant heroes—suggesting an ethical tension between martial duty and the sorrowful cost of violence.
Nārada states that Arjuna, armed with divine astras and bearing the Gāṇḍīva bow, slew Karṇa in battle—describing Karṇa as sun-like in brilliance to emphasize the magnitude of the fallen warrior.