Shloka 256
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
नगरे शाकले स्फीते आहत्य निशि दुन्दुभिम् । “उस देशमें एक राक्षसी रहती है, जो सदा कृष्णपक्षकी चतुर्दशी तिथिको समृद्धिशाली शाकल नगरमें रातके समय दुन्दुभि बजाकर इस प्रकार गाती है--
nagare śākale sphīte āhatya niśi dundubhim |
Karna said: “In the prosperous city of Śākala, at night, she strikes the war-drum (dundubhi) and sings thus.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a narrative setup for a moral warning: public signs and ominous proclamations often symbolize the ripening of past actions and the approach of inevitable consequences, urging rulers and warriors to reflect on dharma before calamity unfolds.
Karna begins describing a scene in the city of Śākala: at night a figure (contextually, a rākṣasī in the surrounding prose) beats a drum and sings a message, serving as an ominous announcement that frames the events to be recounted next.