Shloka 243
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
वरो महेन्द्रो देवानां कर्ण: प्रहरतां वर: । जैसे घोड़ोंमें उच्चै:श्रवा, राजाओंमें कुबेर और देवताओंमें महेन्द्र श्रेष्ठ हैं, उसी प्रकार कर्ण योद्धाओंमें ऊँचा स्थान रखता था
varo mahendro devānāṁ karṇaḥ praharatāṁ varaḥ | yathā aśvānām uccaiḥśravāḥ, rājñāṁ kuberaḥ, devānāṁ mahendraḥ śreṣṭhaḥ, tathā karṇo yoddhṛṣu ūrdhvaṁ sthānam āsthitaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Trong hàng chư thiên, Mahendra (Indra) là bậc nhất; và trong hàng những kẻ tung đòn nơi chiến địa, Karṇa là bậc nhất. Như Uccaiḥśravā tối thượng giữa loài ngựa, Kubera tối thượng giữa các vương giả, và Mahendra tối thượng giữa chư thiên, thì Karṇa cũng giữ ngôi cao nhất giữa các chiến binh.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches how epic narration uses exalted comparisons to establish a warrior’s stature: Karṇa’s excellence in combat is presented as pre-eminent, like Indra among gods. Implicitly, it also reminds that great power intensifies moral stakes—prowess does not by itself resolve the question of righteous alignment in war.
Vaiśampāyana is describing Karṇa’s standing in the Kurukṣetra conflict, elevating him through analogies to famed supreme figures (Uccaiḥśravā, Kubera, Indra) to emphasize that Karṇa occupies a top rank among fighters at this point in the Karṇa Parva narration.