Shloka 31
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
संध्यां धृतिं च मेधां च स्थितिं संनतिमेव च | ग्रहनक्षत्रताराभि क्षर्म चित्र नभस्तलम्,संध्या, धृति, मेधा, स्थिति और संनतिसहित आकाशको, जो ग्रह, नक्षत्र और तारोंसे विचित्र शोभा धारण करता है, चर्म (रथका ऊपरी आवरण) बनाया
sandhyāṁ dhṛtiṁ ca medhāṁ ca sthitiṁ saṁnatim eva ca | graha-nakṣatra-tārābhiś citraṁ nabhastalam carma kṛtam |
Duryodhana said: “I fashioned as a chariot-cover the sky itself—adorned with planets, constellations, and stars—together with twilight, steadfastness, intelligence, stability, and humble submission.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how a warrior-king may appropriate the language of virtue and cosmic order to justify or glorify his cause. It invites ethical reflection: inner qualities like dhṛti (steadfastness) and medhā (intelligence) gain moral worth only when aligned with dharma, not merely when used to fortify pride or aggression.
In the Karṇa Parva’s battle setting, Duryodhana speaks in a heightened, poetic register, boasting of extraordinary preparations. He claims that the star-studded sky—along with twilight and personified virtues—serves as a ‘carma’, the chariot’s upper covering, emphasizing grandeur and invulnerability amid the ongoing war.