Shloka 14
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
सस्मार वृषभस्कन्ध॑ कर्ण दुर्योधनस्तदा । तदनन्तर शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले दुर्योधनने शत्रुओंके विरुद्ध व्यूह-रचनामें समर्थ और वृषभके समान पुष्ट कंधोंवाले प्रमुख वीर कर्णका स्मरण किया ।। १३ $ ।। पुरंदरसमं युद्धे मरुदूगणसमं बले
sa smāra vṛṣabhaskandhaṁ karṇa duryodhanas tadā | tadanantaraṁ śatruvīrāṇāṁ saṁhāra-karaṇevale duryodhanena śatrūn prati vyūha-racanāyāṁ samartho vṛṣabha-sadṛśa-puṣṭa-skandhaḥ pramukha-vīraḥ karṇaḥ smṛtaḥ || purandara-samaṁ yuddhe marud-gaṇa-samaṁ bale ||
Санджая сказал: Тогда Дурьодхана вспомнил Карну, широкоплечего, как могучий бык. Затем, жаждая истребления вражеских витязей, он призвал в память того первейшего воина — Карну, искусного в построении боевых порядков против врага и наделённого плечами, крепкими, как у быка. В бою он был подобен Пурандаре (Индре), а силой — сонмам Марутов.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how leaders in war often lean on celebrated strength and tactical expertise to pursue victory, even when that pursuit is framed as the 'destruction' of opponents. Ethically, it invites reflection on the difference between valor used for protection and prowess used for annihilation, and how dependence on power can intensify adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, seeking to counter the enemy and arrange effective battle formations, remembers and turns to Karṇa as his foremost champion. Karṇa is praised with divine comparisons—like Indra in battle and like the Maruts in strength—signaling Duryodhana’s strategic reliance on him at this stage of the war.