धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
यौ तौ कर्णश् च भीमश् च संप्रयुद्धौ महाबलौ ॥
अर्जुनस्य रथोपान्ते कीदृशः सो ऽभवद् रणः ॥
पूर्वं हि निर्जितः कर्णो भीमसेनेन संयुगे ॥
कथं भूयस् तु राधेयो भीमम् आगान् महारथः ॥
भीमो वा सूततनयं प्रत्युद्यातः कथं रणे ॥
महारथसमाख्यातं पृथिव्यां प्रवरं रथम् ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
yau tau karṇaś ca bhīmaś ca saṃprayuddhau mahābalau ||
arjunasya rathopānte kīdṛśaḥ so 'bhavad raṇaḥ ||
pūrvaṃ hi nirjitaḥ karṇo bhīmasenena saṃyuge ||
kathaṃ bhūyas tu rādheyo bhīmam āgān mahārathaḥ ||
bhīmo vā sūtatanayaṃ pratyudyātaḥ kathaṃ raṇe ||
mahārathasamākhyātaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pravaraṃ ratham ||
Those two mighty warriors, Karna and Bhima, who clashed in battle near Arjuna's chariot — what was that battle like? For Karna was defeated before by Bhimasena in battle; how then did Radheya, the great warrior, come against Bhima again? Or how did Bhima go forth to meet in battle the suta's son, renowned as a great warrior, the foremost charioteer on earth?
771eb01d32dd · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra marvels that the defeated meets the victor again: the outcome of battle is never final. It is telling that the father weighs the might of Karna, in whom all his hope rests. The verse teaches that in war there is no final defeat while the fighters live: the fallen rises and goes into battle again, and so the outcome is decided not by one clash alone, but only at the very end.