Shloka 44
हतो वैकर्तन: कर्ण: सपुत्र: सहवाहन: । अर्थिनां पक्षिसंघस्य कल्पवृक्षो निपातित:
śalya uvāca — hato vaikartanaḥ karṇaḥ saputraḥ sahavāhanaḥ | arthināṃ pakṣi-saṅghasya kalpa-vṛkṣo nipātitaḥ ||
Wika ni Śalya: “Napatay na si Vaikartana Karṇa—kasama ang kanyang anak, ang kanyang tagapagmaneho, at ang kanyang pangkat ng mga kabayo. Siya na tumindig na parang punong kalpavṛkṣa para sa mga pulutong ng namamalimos ay naibagsak. Matapos sunugin ang Pāṇḍava at Pāñcāla sa ningning ng kanyang mga sandata, matapos pahirapan ang hukbo ng kaaway sa mga ulang-palaso, at matapos ikalat ang kanyang katanyagan na parang araw na may sanlibong sinag, bumagsak si Karṇa.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes Karṇa’s famed generosity (likened to a kalpavṛkṣa for supplicants) with the stark finality of death in war. It suggests that personal virtues like dāna and valor do not by themselves avert downfall when one is bound to an unrighteous cause and the destructive momentum of battle.
Śalya announces and describes Karṇa’s fall: after inflicting intense suffering on the Pāṇḍavas and the Pāñcālas with weapon-brilliance and arrow-showers, Karṇa—along with his son and chariot-team—is brought down. The statement functions as both report and lament, marking a decisive shift in the war’s course.