Shloka 26
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
उड्डीनमवडीनं च प्रडीनं डीनमेव च । निडीनमथ संडीनं तिर्यक् डीनगतानि च
uḍḍīnam avaḍīnaṃ ca praḍīnaṃ dīnam eva ca | niḍīnam atha saṃḍīnaṃ tiryak dīna-gatāni ca
قال كاكا: «منهم من طار صعودًا، ومنهم من طار هبوطًا، ومنهم من اندفع قُدُمًا، ومنهم من سقط سقوطًا تامًّا؛ ومنهم من آوى إلى العشّ، ومنهم من اجتمع، ومنهم من سار جانبًا—فهذه كلُّها أحوالُ “الساقط” وحركاتُه.»
काक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a catalog of movements and states—rising, descending, wandering, nesting, clustering—to suggest that external motion or circumstance is variable and morally neutral; ethical value depends on inner steadiness and dharmic conduct rather than mere worldly position.
The crow (Kāka) speaks in a didactic tone, listing different ‘courses’ or conditions observed among creatures, as part of a larger moral reflection meant to guide judgment and behavior amid changing fortunes.