Mahabharata 11.21.8 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 8
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
अनाधुृष्य: परैर्युद्धे शत्रुभिर्मघवानिव । युगान्ताग्निरिवार्चिष्मान् हिमवानिव निश्चल:ः
anādṛṣyaḥ parair yuddhe śatrubhir maghavān iva | yugāntāgnir ivārciṣmān himavān iva niścalaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa digmaan, siya’y di-malalapitan ng iba, gaya ni Maghavān (Indra) laban sa kanyang mga kaaway; nagliliyab na parang apoy sa wakas ng isang yugto, at di-natitinag na parang Himavān (Himalaya). Ganyan si Karṇa—na naging kanlungan ni Duryodhana, anak ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra—ngayon ay nakahandusay na patay sa lupa, gaya ng punong nabali sa bagyo. Ipinahihiwatig nito ang malungkot na pagbaligtad ng digmaan: kahit ang pinakamatatag na tagapagtanggol ay naibabagsak, at ang kapangyarihan sa daigdig ay lumilitaw na marupok at panandalian.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of strength and status: even one who seems invincible and steadfast can fall. Ethically, it intensifies the Strī-parvan mood of lamentation and reflection—war consumes protectors and protected alike, forcing survivors to confront the moral cost of ambition and enmity.
Vaiśampāyana describes Karṇa’s former battlefield might through grand similes (Indra-like, end-of-age fire, Himalaya-like) and then states the reversal: Karṇa, who served as Duryodhana’s chief refuge and support, has been slain and lies fallen like a storm-toppled tree.
Ask anything about this verse
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.