Shloka 9

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

आयुर्नूनं सुदीर्घ मे विहितं दैवतै: पुरा । यत्र कर्ण हत॑ श्रुत्वा जीवामीह सुदु:खित:,अवश्य ही पूर्वकालमें देवताओंने मेरी आयु बहुत बड़ी बना दी थी, जिसके अधीन होनेके कारण मैं कर्ण-वधका समाचार सुनकर अत्यन्त दुःखी होनेपर भी यहाँ जी रहा हूँ इति श्रीमहाभारते कर्णपर्वणि धृतराष्ट्रप्रश्ने नवमो5ध्याय:

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |

āyur nūnaṃ sudīrghaṃ me vihitaṃ daivataiḥ purā |

yatra karṇaṃ hataṃ śrutvā jīvāmīha suduḥkhitaḥ ||

Translation

ธฤตราษฏระตรัสว่า “แท้จริงเหล่าเทพได้กำหนดอายุข้าพเจ้าไว้ยืนนานยิ่งนักแต่กาลก่อน; เพราะแม้ได้ยินข่าวว่ากรรณะถูกสังหารแล้ว ข้าพเจ้าก็ยังคงมีชีวิตอยู่ ณ ที่นี้—ถูกทับถมด้วยความโศกอันสุดจะทนได้”

Word by Word

आयुःlifespan

नूनम्surely, indeed

सुदीर्घम्very long

मेmy

विहितम्ordained, fixed

दैवतैःby the gods / by divine powers

पुराformerly, earlier

यत्रwherein/when (in which situation)

कर्णम्Karna

हतम्slain

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

जीवामिI live

इहhere

सुदुःखितःdeeply sorrowful

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Karṇa

Daivatāḥ (the gods)

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 irony of divinely allotted longevity: when one’s life is entangled in adharma and its consequences, a long life can become a vessel for prolonged suffering. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s theme that actions and alliances in war yield inevitable grief, regardless of power or status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, receiving news from the battlefield, laments that he is still alive even after hearing of Karṇa’s death. His statement conveys shock and helpless sorrow, implying that fate (or the gods) has fixed his life-span so that he must endure the collapse of his side in the war.