Shloka 16
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
संस्तौषि तौ तु केनापि हेतुना त्वं कुदेशज,दुष्ट और पापी देशगमें उत्पन्न हुए नीच क्षत्रिय-कुलांगार दुर्बुद्धि शल्य! तुम उन दोनोंकी किसी स्वार्थसिद्धिके लिये स्तुति करते हो; परंतु आज समरांगणमें उन दोनोंको मारकर बन्धु-बान्धवोंसहित तुम्हारा भी वध कर डालूँगा
saṃstauṣi tau tu kenāpi hetunā tvaṃ kudeśaja, duṣṭa aura pāpī deśagameṃ utpanna hue nīca kṣatriya-kulāṅgāra durbuddhi śalya! tuma una donoṃkī kisī svārthasiddhike liye stuti karate ho; parantu āja samarāṅgaṇameṃ una donoṃko mārakara bandhu-bāndhavoṃsahita tumhārā bhī vadha kara ḍālūṅgā
Karna said: “For what reason do you praise those two? You are born in a vile and sinful land—an ignoble disgrace to the Kshatriya line, O Shalya of perverse intellect! You flatter those two to serve some selfish end. But today, on the battlefield, I will slay them both, and then I will kill you as well, together with your kinsmen and allies.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how anger and wounded honor can distort ethical judgment in war: Karna frames Shalya’s speech as selfish flattery and responds with harsh abuse and vows of total destruction. It highlights the Mahabharata’s recurring tension between Kshatriya pride and the restraint expected by dharma.
During the Karna Parva, Karna addresses Shalya (his charioteer) in a heated exchange. Karna accuses Shalya of praising Karna’s opponents for personal motives and threatens to kill those praised and then Shalya himself along with his supporters, intensifying the conflict within the Kaurava camp.