उत्कृत्य कवचं यस्मात् कुण्डले विमले च ते ॥
प्रादाच् छक्राय कर्णो वै तेन वैकर्तनः स्मृतः ॥
आशीविष इव क्रुद्धः स्तम्भितो मन्त्रतेजसा ॥
तथाद्य भाति कर्णो मे शान्तज्वाल इवानलः ॥
यदा प्रभृति कर्णाय शक्तिर् दत्ता महात्मना ॥
वासवेन महाबाहो प्राप्ता यासौ घटोत्कचे ॥
कुण्डलाभ्यां निमायाथ दिव्येन कवचेन च ॥
तां प्राप्यामन्यत वृषा सततं त्वां हतं रणे ॥
utkṛtya kavacaṃ yasmāt kuṇḍale vimale ca te ||
prādāc chakrāya karṇo vai tena vaikartanaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
āśīviṣa iva kruddhaḥ stambhito mantratejasā ||
tathādya bhāti karṇo me śāntajvāla ivānalaḥ ||
yadā prabhṛti karṇāya śaktir dattā mahātmanā ||
vāsavena mahābāho prāptā yāsau ghaṭotkace ||
kuṇḍalābhyāṃ nimāyātha divyena kavacena ca ||
tāṃ prāpyāmanyata vṛṣā satataṃ tvāṃ hataṃ raṇe ||
"Since, having cut off the armor and those bright earrings, Karna gave them to Shakra, he is thereby called Vaikartana [the Cutter]. Like an enraged venomous serpent paralyzed by the power of a mantra, thus Karna now appears to me, like a fire with its flame quenched. Ever since the dart was given to Karna by the great-souled Vasava, O mighty-armed one, and that [dart is] now [spent] on Ghatotkacha -- having exchanged it for the earrings and the divine armor, having obtained it, the Bull [Karna] believed that you were forever [as good as] slain in battle."
59585f2914f7 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:11 PM UTC
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The name "Vaikartana" -- "the Cutter" -- preserves the memory of an act of generosity: Karna cut off his innate armor and earrings and gave them to Indra. It is significant that his greatest valor and his fatal vulnerability were born of the same gift. The verse teaches that noble generosity can come at a high price: Karna, unable to refuse, gave away his invulnerability -- and in this lies both his greatness and his ruin; for magnanimity that knows no measure lays the giver bare.