Shloka 293
येषां धर्मस्तान् प्रति नास्त्यधर्मो ह्यारट्टानां पजचनदान् धिगस्तु । कृतघ्नता
yeṣāṃ dharmas tān prati nāsty adharmo hy āraṭṭānāṃ pañcanadān dhig astu | kṛtaghnatā paradhanāpaharaṇaṃ madirāpānaṃ gurupatnīgamanam kaṭuvacanaprayogaḥ govadhaḥ rātrau gṛhād bahiḥ paribhramaṇaṃ paravastrabhogaś ca—ete sarve yeṣāṃ dharmāḥ, teṣām āraṭṭānāṃ pañcanadāvāsināṃ cādharmo nāma vastu nāsty eva | tebhyo dhig astu ||
Karna sprach: «Wer seine eigene “Dharma” in Undankbarkeit, Raub fremden Vermögens, Trunksucht, Schändung der Frau des Lehrers, scharfer Rede, Kuhschlachtung, nächtlichem Umherstreifen außerhalb des Hauses und dem Tragen oder Genießen fremder Gewänder sieht — für den gibt es überhaupt nichts, was “Adharma” hieße; denn Unrecht ist ihm Lebensregel. Schande über jene Āraṭṭas und die Bewohner von Pañcanada!»
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns a mindset where repeated wrongdoing is normalized as ‘dharma’; it asserts that when immoral acts become habitual and socially accepted, the very category of ‘adharma’ disappears for such people—hence the moral denunciation.
In Karna’s speech during the war narrative, he denounces certain groups (Āraṭṭas and Pañcanada inhabitants) by listing behaviors he deems gravely unrighteous, using this as rhetorical blame and moral vilification within the conflict context.