Shloka 18
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
कथं वैकर्तन: कर्णस्तत्रायुध्यत संजय । कथं च पाण्डवा: सर्वे युयुधुस्तत्र सूतजम्,संजय! सेनाको शिविरकी ओर लौटानेके बाद जब रात बीती और प्रातःकाल पुनः संग्राम आरम्भ हुआ, उस समय वैकर्तन कर्णने वहाँ किस प्रकार युद्ध किया तथा समस्त पाण्डवोंने सूतपुत्र कर्णके साथ किस प्रकार युद्ध आरम्भ किया?
sañjaya uvāca |
kathaṃ vaikartanaḥ karṇas tatrāyudhyata sañjaya |
kathaṃ ca pāṇḍavāḥ sarve yuyudhus tatra sūtajam, sañjaya ||
Sañjaya said: “Tell me, O Sañjaya, how did Karṇa, Vaikartana, fight there? And how did all the Pāṇḍavas engage in battle there against Karṇa, the charioteer’s son?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how identity and social labels (Vaikartana, Sūtaja) frame perceptions in war, while the narrative focus remains on conduct and prowess in battle—inviting reflection on honor and judgment beyond birth-based epithets.
Sañjaya introduces a report of renewed fighting: he is asked to describe how Karṇa fought on the battlefield and how the Pāṇḍavas collectively engaged him when the battle resumed.