Shloka 54

Devanagari script

कर्ण उवाच नैतादृशो जातु बभूव लोके रथोत्तमो यावदुपश्रुतं न: । तमीदृशं प्रतियोत्स्यामि पार्थ महाहवे पश्य च पौरुषं मे,कर्ण बोला--शल्य! मैंने जहाँतक सुना है, वहाँतक संसारमें ऐसा श्रेष्ठ महारथी वीर कभी नहीं उत्पन्न हुआ, ऐसे कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनके साथ मैं महासमरमें युद्ध करूँगा, मेरा पुरुषार्थ देखो

Transliteration

karṇa uvāca naitādṛśo jātu babhūva loke rathottamo yāvad upaśrutaṃ naḥ | tam īdṛśaṃ pratiyotsyāmi pārtha mahāhave paśya ca pauruṣaṃ me ||

Translation

Karna said: “Never has there been in this world—so far as we have heard—such a supreme chariot-warrior as this. Yet I shall face such a Partha (Arjuna) in the great battle. Behold my manly valor.”

Word by Word

{'naitādṛśaḥ''not such as this

none like this', 'jātu''ever

at any time', 'babhūva''has been

came to be', 'loke''in the world', 'rathottamaḥ': 'the best among chariot-warriors

supreme ratha-warrior', 'yāvat''as far as

to the extent that', 'upaśrutam''heard

learned by report/tradition', 'naḥ''by us

to us', 'tam''him

that one', 'īdṛśam''such

of that kind', 'pratiyotsyāmi''I will fight against

I will engage in combat with', 'pārtha''O Partha

Arjuna (son of Pṛthā/Kuntī)', 'mahāhave''in the great battle', 'paśya': 'see

behold', 'ca''and', 'pauruṣam': 'manly effort

prowess', 'me''my'}

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Shalya

Arjuna

Partha

Kunti

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of meeting even the greatest opponent without retreat, grounding one’s identity in courage and effort (pauruṣa). Ethically, it shows how honor and resolve can coexist with pride—Karna acknowledges Arjuna’s unmatched stature yet insists on proving himself through action.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Karṇa Parva, Karna speaks to his charioteer Śalya. He declares that, by all accounts, no warrior like Arjuna has arisen, but he will still confront him in the decisive battle and urges Śalya to witness his prowess.