Shloka 32

Devanagari script

कीर्तिहि पुरुषं लोके संजीवयति मातृवत्‌ । अकीर्तिरजीवितं हन्ति जीवतो5पि शरीरिण:,कीर्ति इस संसारमें माताकी भाँति मनुष्यको नूतन जीवन प्रदान करती है। परंतु अकीर्ति जीवित पुरुषके भी जीवनको नष्ट कर देती है

Transliteration

kīrtir hi puruṣaṃ loke saṃjīvayati mātṛvat | akīrtir ajīvitaṃ hanti jīvato ’pi śarīriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Karna berkata: “Sesungguhnya, nama baik seseorang di dunia ini menghidupkannya semula seperti seorang ibu, mengurniakan kehidupan dan martabat yang baharu. Tetapi kehinaan memusnahkan hidup itu sendiri—menjatuhkan bahkan orang yang masih bernafas dalam tubuh yang hidup.”

Word by Word

कीर्तिःfame, good repute

हिindeed, for

पुरुषम्man, person

लोकेin the world

संजीवयतिrevives, gives life to

मातृवत्like a mother

अकीर्तिःill-fame, disgrace

अजीवितम्non-life; (as) death, lifelessness

हन्तिkills, destroys

जीवतःof a living (person/being)

अपिeven, also

शरीरिणःof an embodied being, of a person

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fame (kīrti) sustains and renews a person’s social and moral life, while disgrace (akīrti) is portrayed as a living death—eroding dignity, purpose, and standing even if the body remains alive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking in a didactic, value-asserting mode, emphasizing the warrior-ethical priority of honor and public repute, and warning that dishonor is more destructive than physical death.