Shloka 28
Sabhā Parva, Adhyāya 68 — Pāṇḍavānāṃ Vanavāsa-prasthānaḥ; Duḥśāsana-nindā; Pāṇḍava-pratijñāḥ
(व्याधिर्बलं नाशयते शरीरस्थोडपि सम्भृत: । तृणानि पशवो घ्नन्ति स्वपक्षं चैव कौरव: ।।
vyādhir balaṃ nāśayate śarīrastho 'pi sambhṛtaḥ | tṛṇāni paśavo ghnanti svapakṣaṃ caiva kaurava || droṇo bhīṣmaḥ kṛpaḥ drauṇir viduraś ca mahāmatiḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ ca gāndhārī bhavataḥ prājñavattarāḥ || ete na kiñcid apy āhuḥ kṣudhitā api kṛṣṇayā | dharmeṇa vijitām etāṃ manyante drupadātmajām ||
Karna sprach: „Eine Krankheit, obgleich sie im Körper selbst heranwächst, vernichtet die Kraft eben dieses Körpers. Das Vieh frisst Gras und tritt es doch unter den Hufen nieder. Ebenso willst du, obwohl im Kuru-Geschlecht geboren, deiner eigenen Partei schaden, o Kaurava. Vikarna! Drona, Bhishma, Kripa, Ashvatthama, Dronas Sohn, der großgesinnte Vidura, und auch Dhritarashtra und Gandhari — sie alle sind weiser als du. Obwohl Draupadi (Krishnaa) bedrängt ist, sagen sie nichts; sie halten die Tochter Drupadas nach ‘Dharma’ für besiegt.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Karna uses vivid metaphors to warn that harm can arise from within one’s own body or community: internal agents can destroy their own foundation. He also highlights the ethical failure of elders’ silence—invoking ‘dharma’ to justify wrongdoing—showing how authority and tradition can be misused to mask injustice.
In the Kuru court during the dice-hall crisis, Karna addresses a Kaurava (understood in the surrounding context as Vikarna) and argues that opposing the Kaurava course is like attacking one’s own side. He then points to senior figures—Drona, Bhishma, Kripa, Ashvatthama, Vidura, Dhritarashtra, and Gandhari—claiming they are wiser and yet remain silent, treating Draupadi as ‘defeated according to dharma’.