Shloka 6
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
तत्र वै ब्राह्मणो भूत्वा ततो भवति क्षत्रिय: । वैश्य: शूद्रश्न वाहीकस्ततो भवति नापित:,“उस देशमें एक ही बाहीक पहले ब्राह्मण होकर फिर क्षत्रिय होता है। तत्पश्चात् वैश्य और शूद्र भी बन जाता है। उसके बाद वह नाई होता है। नाई होकर फिर ब्राह्मण हो जाता है। ब्राह्मण होनेके पश्चात् फिर वही दास बन जाता है-
tatra vai brāhmaṇo bhūtvā tato bhavati kṣatriyaḥ | vaiśyaḥ śūdraś ca vāhīkas tato bhavati nāpitaḥ ||
Karna said: “In that land, a single Vāhīka becomes a brāhmaṇa first, then turns into a kṣatriya; thereafter he becomes a vaiśya and even a śūdra, and then he becomes a barber. Thus, by shifting roles again and again, he cycles through castes and occupations.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions less as a universal ethical teaching and more as polemical rhetoric: it uses the framework of varṇa and occupation to accuse a group (the Vāhīkas) of lacking stable conduct and dependable dharma. Ethically, it illustrates how epic speakers deploy social categories to praise or blame, and how such speech can be weaponized in conflict.
Karna is speaking in a disparaging tone about the Vāhīka people/land, claiming that a Vāhīka repeatedly shifts between being a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, and even a barber—implying social and moral inconsistency. This is part of a broader war-context discourse where opponents or regions are criticized to undermine their credibility.