Shloka 22
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
हन्त शल्य विजानीहि हन्त भूयो ब्रवीमि ते । कल्माषपाद: सरसि निमज्जन् राक्षसोडब्रवीत्,शल्य! इन सब बातोंको अच्छी तरह जान लो। अभी इस विषयमें तुमसे कुछ और भी बातें बता रहा हूँ, जिन्हें सरोवरमें डूबते हुए राक्षस कल्माषपादने कहा था--
hanta śalya vijānīhi hanta bhūyo bravīmi te | kalmāṣapādaḥ sarasi nimajjan rākṣaso 'bravīt ||
Karna said: “Come, Śalya—understand this well. Come, I will tell you still more. As the rākṣasa Kalmāṣapāda was sinking in a lake, he spoke these words.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a rhetorical pivot: Karna demands Śalya’s attentive understanding and introduces an exemplum (Kalmāṣapāda’s utterance while sinking). Ethically, it highlights how instruction and warning can be framed through remembered sayings, especially at moments of danger and urgency.
Karna addresses Śalya directly, urging him to grasp what has been said and announcing that he will add more. He then sets up a quotation or story: the rākṣasa Kalmāṣapāda, while sinking in a lake, spoke certain words—those words are about to be reported in the following verses.