Shloka 97
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
संजय! द्रोणाचार्यके मारे जानेपर संग्राममें नरवीर कौरवोंका शत्रुओंके साथ जैसा बर्ताव हुआ, वह मुझे बताओ ।।
sañjaya! droṇācārye māre jāne 'pare saṅgrāme naravīra-kuravāṇāṃ śatrubhiḥ saha yathā vyavahāro 'bhavat, tan me vada. yathā karṇaḥ kaunteyaiḥ saha yuddham ayojayat, yathā ca dviṣatāṃ hantā raṇe śāntaḥ, tad ucyatām.
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Sanjaya! Pagkatapos mapatay si Droṇācārya, sabihin mo sa akin kung paano kumilos sa digmaan ang mga bayaning Kuru laban sa kanilang mga kaaway. Isalaysay mo nang buo kung paano inihanay ni Karna, ang mamumuksa ng kaaway, ang labanan laban sa mga anak ni Kuntī, at kung paano siya sa huli ay naging tahimik sa larangan ng digmaan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a moral and narrative problem: after the fall of a great teacher-commander (Droṇa), attention shifts to how leaders and armies ‘conduct themselves’ (vyavahāra) under pressure, and to the inevitable stilling of even the fiercest warrior. It invites reflection on responsibility, the ethics of command, and the transient nature of martial glory.
Vaiśampāyana prompts Sanjaya to recount events after Droṇa’s death: how the Kaurava heroes engaged the enemy, how Karṇa took charge and organized combat against the Pāṇḍavas (Kaunteyas), and how Karṇa—renowned as a slayer of foes—eventually became ‘still’ on the battlefield, i.e., met his end.