Shloka 25
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
अतिदुःखमिदं मूढ न जातु ब्राह्मण: सहेत् क्षत्रियस्थेव ते धैर्य कामया सत्यमुच्यताम्
atidukham idaṁ mūḍha na jātu brāhmaṇaḥ sahet | kṣatriyasyeva te dhairyaṁ kāmayā satyam ucyatām ||
“হে মূঢ়! এ দুঃখ অত্যন্ত কঠোর; ব্রাহ্মণ কখনও তা সহ্য করতে পারে না। তোমার ধৈর্য ক্ষত্রিয়ের মতো। অতএব স্বেচ্ছায় সত্য বল—তুমি কে?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores satya (truthfulness) as an ethical imperative: extraordinary endurance suggests a hidden identity, and Nārada urges voluntary confession of truth rather than concealment.
Nārada observes someone bearing immense suffering with unusual fortitude; judging that such endurance is more typical of a kṣatriya than a brāhmaṇa, he challenges the person and asks them to reveal their true identity.