Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अमृतादुत्थितं होतदुभयं रत्नसम्भवम्‌ | तस्माद्‌ रक्ष्यं त्वया कर्ण जीवितं चेत्‌ प्रियं तव,"कर्ण! ये दोनों रत्नमय कवच और कुण्डल अमृतसे उत्पन्न हुए हैं; अतः यदि तुम्हें अपना जीवन प्रिय हो तो इन दोनों वस्तुओंकी रक्षा अवश्य करना”

Transliteration

amṛtād utthitaṃ hotad ubhayaṃ ratna-sambhavam | tasmād rakṣyaṃ tvayā karṇa jīvitaṃ cet priyaṃ tava ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Karna, diese beiden—dein juwelengleicher Panzer und deine Ohrringe—sollen aus Amṛta, dem Nektar der Unsterblichkeit, hervorgegangen sein. Darum: Ist dir dein Leben lieb, so schütze sie mit größter Sorgfalt.“

Word by Word

अमृतात्from nectar/ambrosia

उत्थितम्arisen, produced

एतत्this

उभयम्both (together)

रत्न-सम्भवम्having origin as a jewel / jewel-born

तस्मात्therefore, from that reason

रक्ष्यम्to be protected, must be guarded

त्वयाby you

कर्णO Karna

जीवितम्life

चेत्if

प्रियम्dear, beloved

तवof you, your

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Karṇa

kavaca (divine armor)

kuṇḍala (earrings)

amṛta

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Divinely granted advantages that sustain one’s life and strength should be guarded with vigilance; neglecting what protects life invites avoidable ruin, especially amid looming conflict and moral tests.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports an admonition addressed to Karṇa: his famed kavaca and kuṇḍalas are of extraordinary, amṛta-like origin, and he is urged to protect them because his survival is bound up with them.