Shloka 2
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
तवातिसर्गाद् देवेश प्राजापत्यमिदं पदम् | मयाधितिष्ठता दत्तो दानवेभ्यो महान् वर:
tavātisargād deveśa prājāpatyam idaṁ padam | mayādhiṣṭhitā dattō dānavebhyo mahān varaḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “O Lord of the gods, by your extraordinary generosity this sovereign station—grounded in Prajāpati’s ordinance—has been granted for me to hold; and a great boon has been bestowed upon the Dānavas.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how claims to legitimacy can be framed as divinely sanctioned ‘boons’ and inherited cosmic order (prājāpatya). Ethically, it invites scrutiny of whether power justified by divine favor is truly aligned with dharma, especially in a war driven by ambition and rivalry.
In Karṇa Parva, Duryodhana speaks in a self-justifying, rallying tone, addressing a divine ‘Lord of the gods’ and asserting that his position and his side’s advantage come from a great boon and from a status grounded in Prajāpati’s order—strengthening morale and portraying his cause as sanctioned.