Shloka 34
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
इज्ितज्ञाश्व मगधा:ः प्रेक्षितज्ञाक्ष कोसला:
ijitayajñāśva-magadhāḥ prekṣitayajñākṣa-kosalāḥ | magadhadeśake lokā īśāreṇaiva sarvaṃ vākyārthaṃ budhyante | kosalanivāsinaḥ netrayoḥ bhāvabhaṅgyā manobhāvaṃ jānanti | kuru-pāñcāladeśakāḥ ardhaṃ vacanaṃ uktamātreṇaiva pūrṇārthaṃ gṛhṇanti | śālvadeśanivāsinaḥ sarvaṃ vacanaṃ uktvāpi tadā budhyante | kintu śibideśīyānām iva parvatīya-prāntanivāsinaḥ sarvebhyaḥ vilakṣaṇāḥ | te sarvaṃ vacanaṃ uktvāpi na budhyante ||
Karna sprach: „Die Leute von Magadha erfassen eine Sache schon aus einem bloßen Wink; die Männer von Kosala lesen den Sinn aus dem Spiel der Augen. Kurus und Panchalas verstehen das Ganze, selbst wenn nur die Hälfte ausgesprochen wird. Die Shalvas begreifen erst, wenn die Aussage vollständig vorgetragen ist. Doch die Berggrenzleute—wie die Shibis—sind allen ungleich: selbst wenn alles gesagt ist, verstehen sie es nicht.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights gradations of comprehension—some grasp meaning from hints or expressions, others need full explanation, and some fail even then—implying that effective counsel and strategy depend on knowing the listener’s capacity to understand.
Karna is speaking and characterizing different peoples by how quickly they understand speech and signs, using these comparisons to make a pointed remark about comprehension (and lack of it) among certain groups.