Shloka 4
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
इमां काकोपमां कर्ण प्रोच्यमानां निबोध मे । श्र॒ुत्वा यथेष्ट कुर्यास्त्वं निहीन कुलपांसन,ओ नीच कुलांगार कर्ण! मेरे द्वारा बताये जानेवाले कौएके इस दृष्टान्तको सुनो और सुनकर जैसी इच्छा हो वैसा करो
imāṁ kākopamāṁ karṇa procyamānāṁ nibodha me | śrutvā yatheṣṭaṁ kuryāstvaṁ nihīna-kula-pāṁsana ||
Sañjaya said: “Karna, listen carefully to this parable of the crow that I am about to relate. Having heard it, act thereafter as you please—O disgrace of a low lineage.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a moral exemplum (a ‘crow-parable’) as a tool of ethical persuasion: hear the illustrative story, reflect on its implication, and then choose your course—while also underscoring that ignoble conduct stains one’s reputation and lineage.
Sanjaya addresses Karna directly and announces that he will narrate a ‘crow’ analogy. The tone is admonitory and contemptuous, indicating a charged exchange in the war narrative where counsel is delivered with sharp rebuke.