Shloka 25
घटोत्कच-कर्णयुद्धम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Karna Combat and the Release of Śakti
हत्वास्माकं पौरुषं वै देवं पश्चात् करोति नः । सतत चेष्टमानानां निकृत्या विक्रमेण च
hatvāsmākaṃ pauruṣaṃ vai devaṃ paścāt karoti naḥ | satataṃ ceṣṭamānānāṃ nikṛtyā vikrameṇa ca ||
Karna said: “After destroying our manly prowess, he then makes it out to be ‘divine’ on our side. Even though we are constantly striving, he overcomes us by deceit as well as by sheer force.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension central to the epic: when victory is pursued through both open valor (vikrama) and covert stratagem (nikṛti), the defeated may interpret the outcome as unfair or as ‘divinely tilted.’ It invites reflection on how dharma in war is judged—not only by results, but by the means employed and the narratives constructed afterward.
Karna, speaking from the Kaurava perspective, complains that the opposing side (implicitly the Pandavas and their allies) first crushes the Kauravas’ human effort and then claims a kind of ‘divine’ advantage for them. He asserts that despite the Kauravas’ constant exertion, they are being outmatched through a combination of deception/stratagem and direct martial prowess.