कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
कौशिकोडप्यभवद् विप्रस्तपस्वी नो बहुश्रुतः । नदीनां संगमे ग्रामाददूरात्ू स किलावसत्
kauśiko 'py abhavad vipras tapasvī no bahuśrutaḥ | nadīnāṃ saṅgame grāmād adūrāt sa kilāvasat |
Vāyu sprach: „Es gab auch einen Brahmanen namens Kauśika—einen Asketen, doch nicht weithin in den Schriften bewandert. Er lebte unweit eines Dorfes, am Zusammenfluss der Flüsse.“
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse sets up an ethical example: spiritual practice (tapas) and a simple life may exist without extensive scriptural scholarship (bahuśruta). It invites reflection on how dharma is tested in lived situations, not only in learned discourse.
Vāyu introduces a character—Kauśika, an ascetic brāhmaṇa of limited formal learning—by locating him near a village at a river confluence, preparing the listener for a moral episode involving him.