Shloka 20
कर्णक्ष पतिते चक्रे रथस्य रथिनां वर: । उत्तमे व्यसने मग्नो हतो गाण्डीवधन्चना,रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ कर्णको भी गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनने उस अवस्थामें मारा था, जब कि उनके रथका पहिया गड्ढेमें गिरकर फँस गया था और इसीलिये वे भारी संकटमें पड़े हुए थे
karṇakṣaḥ patite cakre rathasya rathināṃ varaḥ | uttame vyasane magno hato gāṇḍīvadhanvanā ||
కర్ణుని రథచక్రం గుంతలో పడిపోయి ఇరుక్కుపోయినప్పుడు, రథయోధుల్లో శ్రేష్ఠుడైన కర్ణుడు ఘోర విపత్తులో చిక్కుకున్నాడు; అప్పుడు గాండీవధారి అతనిని హతమార్చాడు।
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield outcomes and later moral judgments often hinge on moments of advantage and vulnerability. By recalling Karna’s death while his chariot-wheel was stuck, it raises the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension between strict ideals of fair combat and the harsh realities of war, where grievances become fuel for further violence.
Kṛpa is speaking and cites a precedent from the war: Karna, famed as a foremost chariot-warrior, was killed by Arjuna at a moment of severe disadvantage when his chariot-wheel had sunk and jammed. The recollection functions as an argument within the Sauptika Parva’s atmosphere of recrimination and justification.