Shloka 57
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
अपश्यन्नम्भस: पार निपतंश्ष श्रमान्वित: । पातवेगप्रमथितो हंसं काको<ब्रवीदिदम्
apaśyann ambhasaḥ pāraṃ nipataṃś ca śramānvitaḥ | pātavega-pramathito haṃsaṃ kāko 'bravīd idam ||
قال شاليا: «إذ لم يستطع الغراب أن يُبصر الشاطئ البعيد للمياه، وكان قد أنهكه وأضناه اندفاع طيرانه، أخذ يهوي. وفي تلك الحال العصيبة خاطب البجعة قائلاً».
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up a moral contrast: reckless pride and overreaching (the crow) leads to exhaustion and downfall, while true capability and discernment (the swan) become the standard against which folly is exposed. In Śalya’s larger admonitory context, it warns against boasting beyond one’s strength and ignoring limits.
Śalya begins a fable-like episode: a crow, unable to find the far shore and weakened by the speed of its flight, starts to fall into the water. Seeing the swan, it speaks to it—introducing the crow’s forthcoming words and the ethical lesson that Śalya intends for Karṇa.