Shloka 28

Devanagari script

वाराहं कौक्कुटं मांसं गव्यं गार्दभमौष्टिकम्‌

Transliteration

vārāhaṃ kaukkuṭaṃ māṃsaṃ gavyaṃ gārdabham auṣṭikam

Translation

Karna said: “(There is) the flesh of boar and cock, and also beef; likewise the flesh of donkey and camel.”

Word by Word

• वाराहम्: boar(-meat), of a boar
• वाराहम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: वाराह
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कौक्कुटम्: cock/hen(-meat), poultry
• कौक्कुटम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: कौक्कुट
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मांसम्: meat
• मांसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गव्यम्: of a cow; bovine (meat)
• गव्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: गव्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गार्दभम्: of a donkey (meat)
• गार्दभम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: गार्दभ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• औष्टिकम्: camel(-meat) (lit. pertaining to an उष्ट्र)
• औष्टिकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: औष्टिक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• boar
• rooster
• cow (bovine)
• donkey
• camel
• meat (as an object of discussion)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as an ethical boundary-marker: certain foods are named as censured/inauspicious in dharma-oriented discourse, implying that restraint and adherence to norms remain relevant even amid the extremity of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking and enumerating specific kinds of meat—boar, rooster, bovine, donkey, and camel—within a larger argument or instruction where such items serve as examples of what is considered improper or blameworthy.