Shloka 14
कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall
Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra
मृत्योरास्य॑ व्यात्तमिवाभिपद्य प्रभद्रका: कर्णमासाद्य राजन् । रथांस्तु तान् सप्तशतान् निमग्नां- स्तदा कर्ण: प्राहिणोन्मृत्युसझ
mṛtyor āsyaṁ vyāttam ivābhipadya prabhadrakāḥ karṇam āsādya rājan | rathāṁs tu tān saptśatān nimagnāṁs tadā karṇaḥ prāhiṇon mṛtyulokaṁ rājan ||
Ó rei, os Prabhadrakas, arremetendo contra Karṇa como quem entra na boca escancarada da Morte, caíram em terrível perigo. Então Karṇa enviou aqueles setecentos guerreiros de carros—como se já estivessem submersos no mar da batalha—diretamente ao reino da Morte.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral gravity of war: courage without discernment can become a headlong entry into death, and battlefield glory is inseparable from mortality and consequence.
The Prabhadrakas charge at Karna, likened to rushing into Death’s open mouth; Karna overwhelms them and dispatches seven hundred chariot-warriors to the realm of Death.