Shloka 2
Arjuna’s Approach, Drona’s Recognition, and the Turning of the Cattle (अर्जुनागमनम्, द्रोणवाक्यम्, गोगमनिवृत्तिः)
यद्येष राजा मत्स्यानां यदि बीभत्सुरागत: । अहमावारयिष्यामि वेलेव मकरालयम्,यदि यह मत्स्यदेशका राजा हो अथवा यदि स्वयं अर्जुन आया हो, तो भी जैसे वेला समुद्रको रोक देती है, उसी प्रकार मैं भी इसे आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दूँगा
yadyeṣa rājā matsyānāṃ yadi bībhatsur āgataḥ | aham āvārayiṣyāmi veleva makarālayam ||
Karna sprach: „Ob dies der König der Matsyas sei oder Arjuna selbst—Bībhatsu—gekommen ist: Ich werde ihn am Vorrücken hindern, wie das Ufer den Ozean zurückhält, die Wohnstatt der Krokodile.“
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Kshatriya ideal of fearless resolve and public commitment in the face of uncertainty. Ethically, it also illustrates how confidence can slide into overconfidence: Karna frames his duty as resistance to an approaching threat, yet the rhetoric of absolute certainty foreshadows the limits of human judgment when pride and rivalry dominate.
In the Virata Parva context, Karna declares that regardless of whether the approaching opponent is the Matsya king or Arjuna (called Bībhatsu), he will block the advance. He uses a vivid simile—like the shore restraining the sea—to project steadfastness and to rally his side before the impending confrontation.