Shloka 22

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

Devanagari script

एवंशीलेषु व्रात्येषु वाहीकेषु दुरात्मसु

Transliteration

evaṁśīleṣu vrātyeṣu vāhīkeṣu durātmasu

Translation

Among the Vāhīkas—men of such conduct, deemed impure and beyond the bounds of proper Vedic discipline, and of wicked disposition—

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus; in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• शीलेषु: in (such) conduct/character
• शीलेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शील
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• व्रात्येषु: among outcasts/degenerates
• व्रात्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रात्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• वाहीकेषु: among the Vāhīkas (a people/region)
• वाहीकेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहीक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• दुरात्मसु: among evil-souled (ones)
• दुरात्मसु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Vāhīkas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line frames a moral judgment: it contrasts dharmic, disciplined conduct with behavior seen as outside accepted norms, using 'vrātya' and 'durātman' to mark ethical and ritual deviation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking and begins a characterization of the Vāhīkas, describing them in harsh, condemnatory terms as people of improper conduct and wicked disposition, as part of a broader rhetorical point in his speech.