Shloka 8
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
तानब्रवीत् ततः कर्ण: क्रुद्धः सर्प इव श्वसन् | करं करेण निष्पीड्य प्रेक्षमाणस्तवात्मजम्
tān abravīt tataḥ karṇaḥ kruddhaḥ sarpa iva śvasan | karaṃ kareṇa niṣpīḍya prekṣamāṇas tavātmajam ||
Then Karṇa, inflamed with anger and hissing like a serpent, pressed one hand against the other and, fixing his gaze upon your son, addressed those Kaurava warriors in these words.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of krodha (anger): it constricts judgment and turns speech into a weapon. In the war context, anger becomes a force that drives decisive action, but it also signals inner agitation that can eclipse dharma-guided counsel.
Sanjaya describes Karna’s physical and emotional state—furious, hissing like a serpent, clenching his hands—while he looks toward Duryodhana (“your son”) and begins to speak to the assembled Kaurava heroes, setting up a forceful address amid battlefield tension.