Shloka 14
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
स कथ॑ रथिनां श्रेष्ठ: कर्ण: पार्थेन संयुगे । निहतः पुरुषव्याप्र: प्रसहासहा[विक्रम:
sa kathaṁ rathināṁ śreṣṭhaḥ karṇaḥ pārthena saṁyuge | nihataḥ puruṣavyāghraḥ prasahāsaha-vikramaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Paano napatay si Karṇa—ang pinakadakila sa mga mandirigmang-karwahe, tigre sa hanay ng mga tao, na ang tapang ay di-matiis ng mga kaaway—sa kamay ni Pārtha (Arjuna) sa gitna ng labanan? Sa anong lakas, at sa anong paraan, bumagsak ang makapangyarihang iyon?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Karṇa’s fall as a moral and narrative problem: when a warrior famed for irresistible valor is slain, the epic invites inquiry into the convergence of human effort (vīrya), circumstance, and dharma in war—suggesting that outcomes are not explained by strength alone but also by the ethical and fated conditions surrounding action.
Vaiśampāyana raises a pointed question about the battlefield event: how Arjuna (Pārtha) managed to kill Karṇa, celebrated as the foremost chariot-warrior. The verse functions as a transition into the detailed account of Karṇa’s defeat and the circumstances that made it possible.