Shloka 69
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
राजन! समरांगणमें देवता और असुर भी मेरा सामना नहीं कर सकते, फिर मनुष्य- योनिमें उत्पन्न हुए पाण्डव तो कर ही कैसे सकते हैं
rājan! samarāṅgaṇe devatāś ca asurāś ca mama sāmānaṁ na śaknuvanti; punaḥ manuṣya-yoniṣu utpannāḥ pāṇḍavās tu kathaṁ śaknuyuḥ?
Karna said: “O King, on the battlefield even the gods and the asuras are unable to stand against me. How then could the Pāṇḍavas—born in the human condition—possibly do so?”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and overconfidence can distort judgment in dharmic conflict: measuring worth only by power leads a warrior to underestimate opponents and ignore the moral and strategic complexities of war.
Karna addresses the king (likely Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and asserts his invincibility, claiming that even gods and asuras cannot face him in battle, and therefore the human-born Pāṇḍavas are even less capable—an emphatic declaration of martial confidence before the ongoing Kurukṣetra fighting.