Shloka 426

Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

पापदेशोद्धवा म्लेच्छा धर्माणामविचक्षणा: । मद्र तथा सिन्धु-सौवीर देशके लोग पापपूर्ण देशमें उत्पन्न हुए म्लेच्छ हैं। उन्हें धर्म- कर्मका पता नहीं है। वे इस जगतमें धर्मकी बातें कैसे समझ सकते हैं?

Transliteration

pāpadeśodbhavā mlecchā dharmāṇām avicakṣaṇāḥ | madra tathā sindhu-sauvīra-deśake lokāḥ pāpapūrṇa-deśe utpannāḥ mlecchāḥ santi | tebhyo dharma-karmāṇāṃ jñānaṃ nāsti | te ’smin jagati dharmasya kathāḥ kathaṃ vijānīyuḥ ||

Translation

Karna sprach: „Wer in sündigen Ländern geboren wird, ist ein mleccha und ohne Urteilskraft in Fragen des Dharma. Die Menschen von Madra und aus der Region Sindhu–Sauvīra sind mlecchas, geboren in Gegenden voller Frevel. Sie wissen nicht, was rechtes Handeln ist; wie sollten sie da in dieser Welt die Sprache und Grundsätze des Dharma verstehen?“

Word by Word

• पापदेशोद्भवाः: born in sinful countries/regions
• पापदेशोद्भवाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापदेशोद्भव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• म्लेच्छाः: barbarians/foreigners
• म्लेच्छाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: म्लेच्छ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• धर्माणाम्: of dharmas / of religious duties
• धर्माणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अविचक्षणाः: undiscerning, lacking understanding
• अविचक्षणाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविचक्षण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• कर्ण (Karna)
• मद्र (Madra)
• सिन्धु (Sindhu)
• सौवीर (Sauvīra)
• म्लेच्छ (Mlecchas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma as requiring discernment and proper ethical formation; Karna argues that those he labels as culturally ‘outside’ and morally untrained cannot grasp dharma. It illustrates how appeals to dharma can be used rhetorically to delegitimize opponents.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Karna Parva war context, Karna delivers a disparaging characterization of certain regions/peoples (Madra, Sindhu, Sauvīra), calling them mlecchas and claiming they lack knowledge of dharma, thereby undermining their moral authority.