Shloka 36

Devanagari script

जानामि ते पार्थ वीर्य यथावद्‌ दुर्वारणीयं च सुरासुरैश्न । सदावजानाति हि पाण्डुपुत्रा- नसौ दर्पात्‌ सूतपुत्रो दुरात्मा

Transliteration

vāyudeva uvāca |

janāmi te pārtha vīryaṃ yathāvad durvāraṇīyaṃ ca surāsuraiḥ |

sadāvajānāti hi pāṇḍuputrān asau darpāt sūtaputro durātmā ||

Translation

Vāyu sprach: „O Pārtha, ich kenne deine wahre Kraft genau — so unwiderstehlich, dass selbst Götter und Asuras sie nur schwer zu hemmen vermöchten. Und doch verhöhnt aus Übermut jener böse Sohn des Sūta, Karṇa, unablässig die Söhne Pāṇḍus.“

Word by Word

• {'janāmi': 'I know, I understand', 'te': 'your', 'pārtha': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)', 'vīryam': 'valor, strength, heroic power', 'yathāvat': 'as it truly is, properly, in full measure', 'durvāraṇīyam': 'hard to restrain, irresistible', 'surāsuraiḥ': 'by gods and asuras (demons/anti-gods)', 'sadā': 'always', 'avajānāti': 'disparages, insults, treats with contempt', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'pāṇḍuputrān': 'the sons of Pāṇḍu (the Pāṇḍavas)', 'asau': 'that (person)', 'darpāt': 'from pride, out of arrogance', 'sūtaputraḥ': 'son of a sūta (charioteer/bard lineage)

• epithet used for Karṇa', 'durātmā': 'evil-minded, wicked-souled'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Suras (gods)
• Asuras
• Pāṇḍuputras (Pāṇḍavas)
• Sūtaputra (Karṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True strength is recognized not merely in battle but in restraint and right conduct; pride (darpa) that expresses itself as contempt for others is ethically blameworthy and leads to further conflict and downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna, affirming Arjuna’s formidable, near-unstoppable prowess, and then points to Karṇa’s habitual, pride-driven disparagement of the Pāṇḍavas—framing Karṇa’s behavior as morally tainted and provocatively hostile.