Shloka 6
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
बहिष्कृता हिमवता गड़या च बहिष्कृता: । सरस्वत्या यमुनया कुरुक्षेत्रेण चापि ये
bahiṣkṛtā himavatā gaḍayā ca bahiṣkṛtāḥ | sarasvatyā yamunayā kuru-kṣetreṇa cāpi ye ||
Karna said: “Those who were cast out by Himavat, and those likewise cast out by the river Gaḍā; those rejected by the Sarasvatī and the Yamunā, and even those excluded by Kurukṣetra itself—(all such) are being spoken of.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred places are not merely physical locations; they function as moral touchstones. The verse implies that those who act against dharma may be ‘excluded’ even by revered rivers and holy regions—an ethical reminder that sanctity demands conduct aligned with righteousness.
Karna is speaking and lists famous mountains, rivers, and Kurukṣetra as if they can reject certain persons. He is emphasizing a judgment rooted in sacred geography—invoking well-known holy entities to strengthen his point about who is fit or unfit (morally/ritually) within the ongoing conflict’s discourse.