Shloka 38
नानाभरणवान् राजंस्तप्तजाम्बूनदाड़द: । हतो वैकर्तनः शेते पादपो5ड्कुरवानिव
nānābharaṇavān rājan taptajāmbūnadāṅgadaḥ | hato vaikartanaḥ śete pādapāṅkuravān iva rājan ||
Wika ni Śalya: “O hari, si Vaikartana Karna—na pinalamutian ng sari-saring hiyas at may suot na pulseras sa bisig na yari sa pinainit na ginto ng Jāmbūnada—ay nakahandusay na patay sa lupa, na parang punong nabuwal na may mga usbong pa.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly splendor and martial glory: ornaments and wealth cannot shield one from the consequences of war. It implicitly warns that when conflict is driven by adharma, even the greatest heroes fall, leaving only a poignant lesson about the cost of violence and the fragility of human greatness.
Śalya addresses the king (Duryodhana) and reports the sight of Karṇa after his death: Karṇa, famed as Vaikartana, lies slain on the battlefield, still adorned with many ornaments and wearing a golden armlet. The simile compares his fallen body to a sprout-bearing tree laid low, emphasizing both his former vitality and the finality of his fall.