Shloka 48

कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्

Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words

Devanagari script

क्षणेनासीन्महीपाल क्षतजैधिप्रवर्तिनी । पञ्चालानहनत्‌ कर्णस्त्रिगर्ताश्न धनंजय:,भूपाल! क्षणभरमें वहाँ भूतलपर खूनकी नदी बह चली। कर्णने पंचालोंका और अर्जुनने त्रिगर्तोंका संहार कर डाला

Transliteration

kṣaṇenāsīnmahīpāla kṣatajaughapravartinī | pañcālān ahanat karṇas trigartān dhanañjayaḥ ||

Translation

سنجے نے کہا—اے مہيپال، ایک ہی لمحے میں زمین خون کے سیلاب سے یوں بہنے لگی گویا دریا ہو۔ کرن نے پانچالوں کو کاٹ ڈالا، اور دھننجے (ارجن) نے تریگرتوں کو نیست و نابود کر دیا۔

Word by Word

क्षणेनin a moment; by a moment

आसीत्was; became

महीपालO king (protector of the earth)

क्षतजैःwith blood

इधि-प्रवर्तिनीflowing like fuel (i.e., blazing/streaming intensely)

पञ्चालान्the Panchalas

अहनत्slew; struck down

कर्णःKarna

त्रिगर्तान्the Trigartas

धनंजयःDhananjaya (Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address mahīpāla)

Karṇa

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Pañcālas

Trigartas

battlefield/earth (bhūtala/mahī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the terrifying speed and scale of battlefield destruction: once war is fully engaged, bloodshed becomes a ‘flood,’ and even renowned heroes enact their kṣatriya-duty through mass killing—highlighting the ethical tension between dharma-as-duty and the human cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the fighting intensifies: the ground is drenched as if a river of blood flows; Karṇa devastates the Pañcāla forces, and Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) annihilates the Trigarta warriors.