Shloka 23
Sundopasundayoḥ Tapas–Varadāna–Prasaṅgaḥ
Sunda and Upasunda: Austerities and the Boon
उपपन्नं महाप्राज्ञे कृतास्त्रे सूतनन्दने । त्वयि विक्रमसम्पन्नमिदं वचनमीदृशम्,“कर्ण! तुम परम बुद्धिमान, अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंके ज्ञाता और सूतकुलको आनन्दित करनेवाले हो। ऐसा पराक्रमयुक्त वचन तुम्हारे ही योग्य है
upapannaṃ mahāprājñe kṛtāstre sūtanandane | tvayi vikramasampannam idaṃ vacanam īdṛśam ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Solche Worte sind ganz und gar angemessen für dich, o Karna — der du von höchster Klugheit bist, in den Waffen vollendet und eine Freude für das Sūta-Geschlecht. Worte, die so von Tapferkeit erfüllt sind, gebühren dir allein.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical praise: speech should be appropriate to one’s qualities, and true valor is linked with wisdom and disciplined mastery. It also highlights how social identity (lineage) is invoked to affirm or position a person within the epic’s moral and political world.
Vaiśaṃpāyana comments on Karṇa, affirming that a bold, valorous statement just made is fitting for him because he is intelligent, skilled in weapons, and celebrated as a ‘Sūtanandana’—thereby reinforcing Karṇa’s martial stature and the narrative’s attention to his contested social identity.