Shloka 20
उवाच तदगौरिति यद् ब्रुवाणो हृष्टो वदे: कर्णसुयोधना भ्याम् । ये राजसूयावभूथे पवित्रा जाता: कचा याज्ञसेन्या दुरात्मन्
uvāca tad agaur iti yad bruvāṇo hṛṣṭo vadeḥ karṇa-suyodhanābhyām | ye rājasūyāvabhūthe pavitrā jātāḥ kacā yājñasenyā durātman ||
Sañjaya said: “When you spoke those words—‘that is improper’—you did so with a kind of elation, addressing Karṇa and Suyodhana. Yet those who were sanctified at the purificatory rite connected with the Rājasūya—those born of the sacred act—(you revile them), O wicked-minded one, (even) in regard to Yājñasenī.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques speech that violates propriety (gaurava) and dharma: even in war, exulting in disrespectful words—especially against the ritually honored and against Yājñasenī—signals moral corruption (durātman).
Sañjaya reports a moment where the addressed person speaks with pleased excitement to Karṇa and Suyodhana, calling something ‘improper,’ while simultaneously showing contempt toward figures associated with sacred rites and toward Yājñasenī (Draupadī).