Shloka 39
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
विसिस्मापयिषु: पातैराचक्षाणो55त्मन: क्रिया: । अथ काकस्य चित्राणि पतितानि मुहुर्मुहु:
visismāpayiṣuḥ pātair ācakṣāṇo ’tmanaḥ kriyāḥ | atha kākasya citrāṇi patitāni muhur muhuḥ ||
Der Schwan sprach: „Um andere mit seinen Taten zu verblüffen, verkündete er unablässig sein eigenes Tun. Doch dann fielen, immer wieder, der Krähe die grellen Zierstücke ab.“ In seiner ethischen Aussage stellt der Vers den selbstverkündenden Hochmut der unvermeidlichen Entlarvung geliehenen Scheins gegenüber: Wahrer Wert braucht kein Schauspiel, und Anmaßung bricht unter wiederholter Prüfung zusammen.
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
Boastful self-display and borrowed splendor are unstable: when one relies on outward show and self-praise rather than genuine merit, repeated trials expose the pretense, and the ‘ornaments’ of reputation fall away.
The Swan narrates how the crow, trying to impress others with flashy aerial feats and by advertising his own deeds, is repeatedly embarrassed when his colorful adornments/gaudy trappings keep falling off.