Shloka 58

Devanagari script

हत्वा तस्थौ महेष्वास: कर्णोडरिगणसूदन: । यथा भूतगणान्‌ हत्वा कालस्तिष्ठेन्महाबल:

Transliteration

hatvā tasthau maheṣvāsaḥ karṇodarigaṇasūdanaḥ | yathā bhūtagaṇān hatvā kālas tiṣṭhen mahābalaḥ ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: «Убив их, могучий лучник — Карна, губитель ратных полчищ, — стоял твердо. Он был подобен всесильному Времени (Кале): уничтожив множество существ, оно остается неподвижным».

Word by Word

हत्वाhaving slain

तस्थौstood (remained)

महेष्वासःthe great archer

कर्ण-उदरि-गण-सूदनःslayer of the Karṇa-udari troop

यथाas, just as

भूत-गणान्hosts of beings (spirits)

हत्वाhaving slain

कालःTime (Death)

तिष्ठेत्would stand

महा-बलःmighty, of great strength

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

क

कर्ण (Karna)

क

काल (Kāla/Time)

भ

भूतगण (hosts of beings)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the epic’s recurring vision of kāla (Time) as an inexorable force: after destruction it stands unmoved. By likening Karna to kāla, it suggests that in war even celebrated heroism can resemble an impersonal, unstoppable power, raising ethical unease about violence and the fragility of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karna, after killing a large group of opposing warriors, remains standing firmly on the battlefield. The simile compares his posture and dominance to Time/Death, which, after destroying multitudes of beings, continues to stand unshaken.