Shloka 31
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
संध्यां धृतिं च मेधां च स्थितिं संनतिमेव च | ग्रहनक्षत्रताराभि क्षर्म चित्र नभस्तलम्
sandhyāṁ dhṛtiṁ ca medhāṁ ca sthitiṁ saṁnatim eva ca | graha-nakṣatra-tārābhiś citraṁ nabhastalam carma kṛtam |
قال دوريودhana: «وجعلتُ السماءَ نفسَها غطاءً للعربة—مزدانةً بالكواكب والكوكبات والنجوم—ومعها الشفقُ، والثباتُ، والذكاءُ، والاستقرارُ، والخضوعُ المتواضع.»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how a warrior-king may appropriate the language of virtue and cosmic order to justify or glorify his cause. It invites ethical reflection: inner qualities like dhṛti (steadfastness) and medhā (intelligence) gain moral worth only when aligned with dharma, not merely when used to fortify pride or aggression.
In the Karṇa Parva’s battle setting, Duryodhana speaks in a heightened, poetic register, boasting of extraordinary preparations. He claims that the star-studded sky—along with twilight and personified virtues—serves as a ‘carma’, the chariot’s upper covering, emphasizing grandeur and invulnerability amid the ongoing war.