Shloka 42
Nara-Nārāyaṇa Precedent and Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna; Karṇa’s Reply
“वहाँ भी तो महात्मा भीमसेन, अर्जुन और नकुल-सहदेवने ही मिलकर उन गन्धर्वोंको परास्त किया था ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tatra api tu mahātmā bhīmasenaḥ arjunaḥ nakula-sahadevau ca eva militvā tān gandharvān parājitavantaḥ || etāni asya mṛṣoktāni bahūni bharatarṣabha | vikatthanasya bhadraṃ te sadā dharmārtha-lopinaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Auch dort waren es der großherzige Bhīmasena, Arjuna sowie Nakula–Sahadeva, die gemeinsam jene Gandharvas bezwangen. Viele seiner Worte sind in eben dieser Weise unwahr, o Stier unter den Bharatas. Segen über dich: Dieser Karṇa ist stets dem leeren Prahlen ergeben, und sein Tun untergräbt sowohl Dharma als auch Artha.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Empty boasting and false self-praise are ethically corrosive: they distort truth, inflame conflict, and ultimately erode both dharma (righteous order) and artha (stable welfare and polity).
Vaiśampāyana recalls an earlier incident where the Pāṇḍavas—Bhīma, Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva—together defeated the Gandharvas, and he uses this to expose Karṇa’s claims as exaggerated or false, characterizing him as a habitual boaster who harms dharma and artha.