पृष्ठे कलिङ्गाः साम्बष्ठा मागधाः पौन्द्रमद्रकाः ॥
गान्धाराः शकुनिप्राग्याः पार्वतीया वसातयः ॥
पुच्छे वैकर्तनः कर्णः सपुत्रज्ञातिबान्धवः ॥
महत्या सेनया तस्थौ नानाध्वजसमुत्थया ॥
pṛṣṭhe kaliṅgāḥ sāmbaṣṭhā māgadhāḥ paundramadrakāḥ ||
gāndhārāḥ śakuniprāgyāḥ pārvatīyā vasātayaḥ ||
pucche vaikartanaḥ karṇaḥ saputrajñātibāndhavaḥ ||
mahatyā senayā tasthau nānādhvajasamutthayā ||
In the rear of the formation [stood] the Kalingas together with the Ambashthas, the Magadhas, the Paundras and Madrakas, the Gandharas led by Shakuni, the mountaineers and the Vasatis. And in the tail Karna Vaikartana, with his sons, kin, and dependents, took his place with a vast host that bristled with banners of every kind.
98b3d504ad2f · publicado 19 jul 2026, 15:00:04 UTC
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Karna, Duryodhana's great hope, is placed in the very tail of the formation — far from the point where the battle is decided. Thus a hidden shadow among the allies reveals itself: the great warrior is held in the rear, for his enmity with Bhishma and the commanders' mistrust push him away from the center of the fight. It is telling that the might on which the king relies most turns out to be not at the beak but at the tail — precisely where it is least needed in the hour of the main blow. The verse teaches that discord and wounded pride within a camp place men not by their strength but by their grievances; and that an army where valor is arranged by favor and disfavor rather than by need already carries within it the seed of its own disorder.