न भीष्मव्यसनं कश् चिद् दृष्ट्वा कर्णम् अमन्यत ॥
विशोकाश् चाभवन् सर्वे राजानः कुरुभिः सह ॥
हृष्टाश् च बहवो योधास् तत्राजल्पन्त संगताः ॥
न हि कर्णं रणे दृष्ट्वा युधि स्थास्यन्ति पाण्डवाः ॥
कर्णो हि समरे शक्तो जेतुं देवान् सवासवान् ॥
किम् उ पाण्डुसुतान् युद्धे हीनवीर्यपराक्रमान् ॥
na bhīṣmavyasanaṃ kaś cid dṛṣṭvā karṇam amanyata ||
viśokāś cābhavan sarve rājānaḥ kurubhiḥ saha ||
hṛṣṭāś ca bahavo yodhās tatrājalpanta saṃgatāḥ ||
na hi karṇaṃ raṇe dṛṣṭvā yudhi sthāsyanti pāṇḍavāḥ ||
karṇo hi samare śakto jetuṃ devān savāsavān ||
kim u pāṇḍusutān yuddhe hīnavīryaparākramān ||
No one, looking at Karna, thought any longer of the calamity of Bhishma's fall; and all the kings together with the Kauravas became untroubled by grief. Many warriors, heartened, gathering together, talked among themselves there: 'Indeed, once they see Karna in battle, the Pandavas will not stand firm in the fight. For Karna is able in battle to vanquish even the gods together with Indra — how much more so the Pandavas, who are so much weaker in might and heroism.'
1a1f8ed6c10e · प्रकाशित 19 जुल॰ 2026, 2:46:26 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The army is instantly consoled by a new idol — 'no one thought of Bhishma any longer': so fickle is the crowd that a hope crushed yesterday is now revived in a new mortal. In the boast 'Karna will conquer even the gods' there sounds a self-deception bordering on blasphemy: a mortal is exalted above the celestials. And the lie is seasoned with contempt for the enemy — 'the Pandavas are weaker' — though the same mouths had earlier called them unconquerable. The verse teaches that the fickle hope of a crowd wanders from idol to idol without learning its lesson; that exalting one's leader to the level of a god is a pride that heralds a fall; and that contempt for an opponent, fed not by truth but by wishful desire, is the surest companion of defeat.