Shloka 15
नानादेशेषु सन्तश्न प्रायो बाह्मालयादृते,'भिन्न-भिन्न देशोंमें बाहीकनिवासियोंको छोड़कर प्राय: सर्वत्र श्रेष्ठ पुरुष उपलब्ध होते हैं। मत्स्यसे लेकर कुरु और पांचाल देशतक, नैमिषारण्यसे लेकर चेदिदेशतक जो लोग निवास करते हैं, वे सभी श्रेष्ठ एवं साधु पुरुष हैं और प्राचीन धर्मका आश्रय लेकर जीवननिर्वाह करते हैं। मद्र और पंचनद प्रदेशोंमें ऐसी बात नहीं है। वहाँके लोग कुटिल होते हैं!
nānādeśeṣu santaḥ prāyo bāhlīkālayād ṛte | matsyāt prabhṛti kuru-pañcāla-deśāntaṃ naimiṣāraṇyāt prabhṛti cedi-deśāntaṃ ye janā nivasanti te sarve śreṣṭhāḥ sādhavaḥ prācīna-dharmam āśritya jīvanirvāhaṃ kurvanti | madra-pañcanada-deśeṣu tu tathā na | tatra janāḥ kuṭilā bhavanti ||
Karna said: “In many lands, as a rule, noble men are found almost everywhere—except among the Bāhlīkas. From Matsya up to the lands of the Kurus and the Pañcālas, and from Naimiṣāraṇya up to the country of Cedi, the people who dwell there are all eminent and virtuous, sustaining their lives by taking refuge in the ancient dharma. But it is not so in the regions of Madra and the Pañcanadas; the people there are crooked in nature.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts communities said to uphold “ancient dharma” with those accused of moral crookedness, using regional characterization to argue that ethical excellence is associated with adherence to traditional righteous conduct.
Karna, speaking in the war narrative, delivers a disparaging assessment of certain northwestern regions (Bāhlīka/Madra/Pañcanada) while praising other lands as inhabited by virtuous people who live by established dharma—an example of polemical rhetoric within the epic.