Shloka 14
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
स कथ॑ रथिनां श्रेष्ठ: कर्ण: पार्थेन संयुगे । निहतः पुरुषव्याप्र: प्रसहासहा[विक्रम:,जिसका पराक्रम शत्रुओंके लिये असहा था, वह रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ पुरुषसिंह कर्ण युद्धस्थलमें कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुनके द्वारा बलपूर्वक कैसे मारा गया?
sa kathaṁ rathināṁ śreṣṭhaḥ karṇaḥ pārthena saṁyuge | nihataḥ puruṣavyāghraḥ prasahāsaha-vikramaḥ ||
جس کا پرَاکرم دشمنوں کے لیے ناقابلِ برداشت تھا، وہ رتھیوں میں افضل، مردوں کا ببر شیر کرن، میدانِ جنگ میں پارتھ (ارجن) کے ہاتھوں زورِ بازو سے کیسے مارا گیا؟
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Karṇa’s fall as a moral and narrative problem: when a warrior famed for irresistible valor is slain, the epic invites inquiry into the convergence of human effort (vīrya), circumstance, and dharma in war—suggesting that outcomes are not explained by strength alone but also by the ethical and fated conditions surrounding action.
Vaiśampāyana raises a pointed question about the battlefield event: how Arjuna (Pārtha) managed to kill Karṇa, celebrated as the foremost chariot-warrior. The verse functions as a transition into the detailed account of Karṇa’s defeat and the circumstances that made it possible.