संजय उवाच
कर्णो ऽपि रथिनां श्रेष्ठश् चापम् उद्यम्य वीर्यवान् ॥
कौरवाग्र्यैः परिवृतः शक्रो देवगणैर् इव ॥
पर्यतिष्ठत तेजस्वी स्वबाहुबलम् आश्रितः ॥
ततः प्रववृते युद्धं कर्णस्य सह पाण्डवैः ॥
संरब्धस्य महाराज सिंहनादविनादितम् ॥
ततस् ते पाण्डवा राजन् पाञ्चालाश् च यशस्विनः ॥
दृष्ट्वा कर्णं महाबाहुम् उच्चैः शब्दम् अथानदन् ॥
अयं कर्णः कुतः कर्णस् तिष्ठ कर्ण महारणे ॥
युध्यस्व सहितो ऽस्माभिर् दुरात्मन् पुरुषाधम ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
karṇo 'pi rathināṃ śreṣṭhaś cāpam udyamya vīryavān ||
kauravāgryaiḥ parivṛtaḥ śakro devagaṇair iva ||
paryatiṣṭhata tejasvī svabāhubalam āśritaḥ ||
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ karṇasya saha pāṇḍavaiḥ ||
saṃrabdhasya mahārāja siṃhanādavināditam ||
tatas te pāṇḍavā rājan pāñcālāś ca yaśasvinaḥ ||
dṛṣṭvā karṇaṃ mahābāhum uccaiḥ śabdam athānadan ||
ayaṃ karṇaḥ kutaḥ karṇas tiṣṭha karṇa mahāraṇe ||
yudhyasva sahito 'smābhir durātman puruṣādhama ||
Karna, the best of warriors, valorous, raising his bow, surrounded by the foremost of the Kurus, like Shakra by the hosts of gods. Then the battle of the incensed Karna with the Pandavas began, resounding with a lion's roar, O great king. Then those Pandavas, O king, and the renowned Panchalas, seeing the mighty-armed Karna, let out a loud cry: "Here is Karna! Where then is Karna? Stand, Karna, in this great battle, fight with us, evil-souled one, most vile of men!"
f7e9020032af · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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The Pandavas and Panchalas furiously challenge Karna — their hatred converges upon him: "here is the root of all our troubles." It is telling that Karna, like Indra amid the gods, is surrounded by his own: even in the camp of the unrighteous, he is the focus of hope. The verse teaches that enmity gathers around a single name; and one whom every foe seeks out by name is both the mainstay of his own side and the target of the other — the double burden of the chosen defender.