Shloka 61
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
कर्णो ह्भ्यधिकः पार्थादस्त्रैरेव नरर्षभ । भवानभ्यधिक: कृष्णादश्वज्ञाने बले तथा,“नरश्रेष्ठ) कर्ण तो अर्जुनसे केवल अस्त्र-ज्ञानमें ही बढ़ा-चढ़ा है, परंतु आप श्रीकृष्णसे अश्वविद्या और बल दोनोंमें बड़े हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
karṇo hy adhikaḥ pārthād astrair eva nararṣabha |
bhavān abhyadhikaḥ kṛṣṇād aśvajñāne bale tathā ||
Sañjaya said: “O bull among men, Karṇa surpasses Pārtha (Arjuna) only in mastery of weapons. But you surpass Kṛṣṇa in both knowledge of horses and in physical strength.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that excellence is domain-specific: Karna’s superiority is framed as limited to weapon-mastery, while other competencies—horsemanship and bodily strength—are separately evaluated. Ethically, it cautions against absolute judgments of greatness and shows how praise can be used to influence morale and strategic perception in war.
Sanjaya reports a battlefield assessment that compares key figures’ strengths. By distinguishing Karna’s advantage over Arjuna in astra-skill and asserting another person’s superiority over Krishna in horsemanship and strength, the narrative sets up expectations about performance, charioteering competence, and tactical confidence during the Karna Parva engagements.