धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
दैवम् एव परं मन्ये धिक् पौरुषम् अनर्थकम् ॥
यत्राधिरथिर् आयस्तो नातरत् पाण्डवं रणे ॥
कर्णः पार्थान् सगोविन्दाञ् जेतुम् उत्सहते रणे ॥
न च कर्णसमं योधं लोके पश्यामि कं चन ॥
इति दुर्योधनस्याहम् अश्रौषं जल्पतो मुहुः ॥
कर्णो हि बलवाञ् शूरो दृढधन्वा जितक्लमः ॥
इति माम् अब्रवीत् सूत मन्दो दुर्योधनः पुरा ॥
वसुषेणसहायं मां नालं देवापि संयुगे ॥
किम् उ पाण्डुसुता राजन् गतसत्त्वा विचेतसः ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
daivam eva paraṃ manye dhik pauruṣam anarthakam ||
yatrādhirathir āyasto nātarat pāṇḍavaṃ raṇe ||
karṇaḥ pārthān sagovindāñ jetum utsahate raṇe ||
na ca karṇasamaṃ yodhaṃ loke paśyāmi kaṃ cana ||
iti duryodhanasyāham aśrauṣaṃ jalpato muhuḥ ||
karṇo hi balavāñ śūro dṛḍhadhanvā jitaklamaḥ ||
iti mām abravīt sūta mando duryodhanaḥ purā ||
vasuṣeṇasahāyaṃ māṃ nālaṃ devāpi saṃyuge ||
kim u pāṇḍusutā rājan gatasattvā vicetasaḥ ||
"I hold fate itself supreme; shame on prowess, fruitless -- where Adhirathi's son, however he strained, could not overcome the Pandava in battle. Karna dares to conquer in battle the Parthas together with Govinda, and I see no warrior in the world equal to Karna. 'Karna indeed is strong, brave, firm-bowed, has conquered fatigue' -- so foolish Duryodhana once said to me, o suta: 'Not even the gods will overcome me, with Vasushena as ally, in combat -- what then of the sons of Pandu, o king, bereft of strength, senseless.'"
b04e950122fc · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:34 PM UTC
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The defeat of the vaunted Karna shatters the king's entire support, and he flees to fate: "shame on fruitless prowess." It is telling that Duryodhana's boastful speech is quoted verbatim, so as to show how his own arrogance deceived him: "not even the gods will overcome us." The verse teaches that reliance on a single mortal and contempt for the rival are two faces of the same self-deception; and the one who exalted his own might is the first to point to fate the moment it fails him.