Shloka 35

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०

Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

अथ काका: प्रजहसुर्ये तत्रासन्‌ समागता:

Transliteration

atha kākāḥ prajahasuḥ ye tatrāsan samāgatāḥ | haṃsasya patitaṃ kāko balavān āśu-vikramaḥ ||

Translation

Da brachen die dort versammelten Krähen in lautes Gelächter aus und sagten zueinander: „Seht diesen erniedrigten Schwan! Wie sollte ein Schwan mit nur einem Flug hundert Arten des Fliegens übertreffen? Diese Krähe ist stark und schnell in ihrer Bewegung; darum wird sie mit nur einem von jenen hundert Flügen den Flug des Schwans besiegen.“

Word by Word

• अथ: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• काकाः: crows
• काकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रजहसुः: laughed loudly
• Type: Verb
• Root: हस्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ये: who/which (those)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• आसन्: were
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• समागताः: assembled/come together
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-गम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, kta (past passive participle)

• हंसस्य: of the swan
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पतितम्: fallen (down)
• पतितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular, kta (past passive participle)

• काकः: a crow
• काकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बलवान्: strong
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आशु-विक्रमः: of swift prowess/quick in action
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशु + विक्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

• हंस (Haṃsa, swan)
• काक (Kāka, crow/crows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse cautions against judging worth solely by outward power or speed and against collective ridicule. The crows equate strength and quickness with superiority, illustrating how arrogance and group-think can misread true excellence and refinement.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group of crows, having gathered at the spot, laugh at a swan they see as ‘fallen’ or humbled. They boast that a strong, swift crow can defeat the swan’s flight, dismissing the swan’s capacity to surpass many kinds of flights.