Shloka 15
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
नानादेशेषु सन्तश्न प्रायो बाह्मालयादृते
nānādeśeṣu santaḥ prāyo bāhlīkālayād ṛte | matsyāt prabhṛti kuru-pañcāla-deśāntaṃ naimiṣāraṇyāt prabhṛti cedi-deśāntaṃ ye janā nivasanti te sarve śreṣṭhāḥ sādhavaḥ prācīna-dharmam āśritya jīvanirvāhaṃ kurvanti | madra-pañcanada-deśeṣu tu tathā na | tatra janāḥ kuṭilā bhavanti ||
Karna sprach: „In vielen Ländern findet man, wie es die Regel ist, edle Männer fast überall — außer unter den Bāhlīkas. Von Matsya bis zu den Landen der Kurus und Pañcālas und von Naimiṣāraṇya bis zum Reich der Cedis sind die Bewohner allesamt ausgezeichnet und tugendhaft und erhalten ihr Leben, indem sie sich an die uralte Dharma halten. Doch in den Gegenden von Madra und Pañcanada ist es nicht so: Die Menschen dort sind von krummer Natur.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts communities said to uphold “ancient dharma” with those accused of moral crookedness, using regional characterization to argue that ethical excellence is associated with adherence to traditional righteous conduct.
Karna, speaking in the war narrative, delivers a disparaging assessment of certain northwestern regions (Bāhlīka/Madra/Pañcanada) while praising other lands as inhabited by virtuous people who live by established dharma—an example of polemical rhetoric within the epic.