Shloka 11

कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma

Devanagari script

धाना गौड्यासवं पीत्वा गोमांसं लशुनैः सह । अपूपमांसवाट्यानामाशिन: शीलवर्जिता:,*वे भुने हुए जौ और लहसुनके साथ गोमांस खाते और गुड़से बनी हुई मदिरा पीकर मतवाले बने रहते हैं। पुआ, मांस और वाटी खानेवाले बाहीकदेशके लोग शील और आचारसे शून्य हैं

Transliteration

dhānā gauḍyāsavaṃ pītvā gomāṃsaṃ laśunaiḥ saha | apūpamāṃsavaṭyānām āśinaḥ śīlavarjitāḥ ||

Translation

Karna said: “Having drunk liquor made from molasses and eaten roasted grains, they consume beef together with garlic. Those who feed on cakes, meat, and balls of food are devoid of good conduct and proper custom.”

Word by Word

धानाःparched grains (barley-corns)

गौड्यmade of jaggery (molasses-based)

आसवम्fermented liquor

पीत्वाhaving drunk

गोमांसम्beef (cow-flesh)

लशुनैःwith garlic

सहtogether with

अपूपof cakes (fried/baked cakes)

मांसof meats

वाट्यानाम्of dumplings/balls (food-balls)

आशिनःeaters (those who eat)

शीलवर्जिताःdevoid of good conduct

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Bāhlīka (people/region implied by the Gita Press Hindi gloss)

gauḍyāsava (molasses liquor)

gomāṃsa (beef)

laśuna (garlic)

dhānā (roasted grains)

apūpa (cakes)

vaṭī/vaṭyā (food-balls)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse illustrates how moral judgment is rhetorically deployed in the epic: by associating a group with intoxication and ‘improper’ foods, the speaker frames them as lacking śīla (good conduct). It serves as an example of ethically charged speech used to delegitimize opponents or outsiders, rather than a neutral ethical instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking in a polemical tone, describing a people-group (identified in the Gita Press gloss as Bāhlīkas) as habitual drinkers and eaters of certain foods, concluding that they are ‘śīlavarjitāḥ’—bereft of proper conduct. The statement functions as a disparaging characterization within the broader war-time discourse.