Shloka 21
Sundopasundayoḥ Tapas–Varadāna–Prasaṅgaḥ
Sunda and Upasunda: Austerities and the Boon
तान् विक्रमेण जित्वेमामखिलां भुड्क्षव मेदिनीम् | अतो नानयं प्रपश्यामि कार्योपायं जनाधिप,पराक्रमसे पाण्डवोंको जीतकर इस सारी पृथ्वीका राज्य भोगो। नरेश्वर! इसके सिवा दूसरा कोई कार्यसिद्धिका उपाय मैं नहीं देखता
tān vikrameṇa jitvemām akhilāṁ bhuṅkṣva medinīm | ato nānyaṁ prapaśyāmi kāryopāyaṁ janādhipa ||
Karna sprach: „Besiege sie durch deine eigene Tapferkeit und genieße dann die Herrschaft über diese ganze Erde. O Herr der Menschen, außer diesem sehe ich keinen anderen Weg, auf dem dein Vorhaben vollendet werden kann.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames political success as dependent on personal valor and decisive action: Karna urges the king to rely on kṣatriya prowess to secure sovereignty, presenting conquest as the sole effective means to fulfill the intended objective.
Karna is giving counsel to the king (addressed as janādhipa, contextually Duryodhana), asserting that victory over the opposing side (implied to be the Pāṇḍavas) through force of arms is the only practical strategy, after which the king should rule the whole earth.