Shloka 20
Adhyāya 203 — Tilottamā-sṛṣṭiḥ
Creation and Commissioning of Tilottamā
स राज्ञ उपभोग्यानि स्त्रियो रत्नधनानि च । आददे सर्वशो मूढ ऐश्वर्य च स्वयं तदा,वह मूढ मन्त्री राजाके उपभोगमें आनेयोग्य स्त्री, रत्न, धन तथा ऐश्वर्यको भी स्वयं ही भोगता था
sa rājña upabhogyāni striyo ratna-dhanāni ca | ādade sarvaśo mūḍha aiśvaryaṃ ca svayaṃ tadā ||
Karna sprach: „Jener Verblendete riss damals für sich an sich, auf jede Weise, sogar das, was dem Genuss des Königs bestimmt war — Frauen, Juwelen, Reichtum und königliche Vorrechte — und verzehrte die Souveränität, als wäre sie sein Eigentum.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns adharma in governance: when a minister or subordinate appropriates what belongs to the king and the realm—women, wealth, and authority—he becomes ‘mūḍha’, blinded by greed, violating trust and the ethical order that sustains kingship.
Karna is describing a situation where a foolish person (implicitly a corrupt minister/agent) usurps the king’s enjoyments and even the symbols of sovereignty, taking them for himself and behaving as though he were the rightful ruler.