Shloka 38
“विजयी अर्जुन आज समरांगणमें धर्मसे दूर रहनेवाले इस पापी सूतपुत्र कर्णने तुम्हारी आँखोंके सामने अनेक प्रमुख पांचालयोद्धाओंका वध कैसे कर डाला? ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
vijayī arjuna adya samarāṅgaṇe dharmāt dūraṃ vartamānena asmin pāpī sūtaputreṇa karṇena tava akṣṇoḥ purataḥ anekān pramukhān pāñcālayodhān kathaṃ vadhitāḥ ||
pūrvaṃ devair ajitaṃ kālakeyaiḥ sākṣāt sthāṇor bāhu-saṃsparśam etya |
kathaṃ nu tvāṃ sūtaputraḥ kirīṭin atha iṣubhir daśabhiḥ prāg avidhyat ||
Sañjaya disse: “Arjuna, sempre vitorioso, como é que hoje, no campo de batalha, este Karṇa pecador—filho de um cocheiro, afastado do dharma—matou, diante dos teus próprios olhos, muitos dos principais guerreiros de Pāñcāla? Em tempos antigos, nem mesmo os deuses te venceram; os demônios Kālakeya tampouco puderam derrotar-te. Chegaste até a tocar diretamente os braços de Sthāṇu (Śiva). Como, então, este filho de sūta, ó portador do diadema, conseguiu primeiro trespassar-te com dez flechas?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield outcomes can overturn established reputations, and how moral judgment (calling someone ‘far from dharma’) is often intertwined with social insult and partisan grief. It invites reflection on the difference between ethical appraisal and martial capability, and on how shock at reversal leads people to re-evaluate assumptions about merit, destiny, and righteousness.
Sañjaya reports and frames a startling development: Karṇa has slain many leading Pāñcāla fighters in Arjuna’s presence and has even struck Arjuna first with ten arrows. Sañjaya underscores the surprise by recalling Arjuna’s earlier invincibility against gods and demons and his direct encounter with Śiva, making Karṇa’s success appear extraordinary and unsettling.