Shloka 19
यः स नागायुतबलो लोके<प्रतिरथो रणे । सिंहखेलगतिर्धीमान् घृणी दाता यतव्रत:
yāḥ sa nāgāyutabalo loke 'pratiratho raṇe | siṁhakhelagatirdhīmān ghṛṇī dātā yatavrataḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “He possessed the strength of ten thousand elephants; in the world, no other great chariot-warrior could match him in battle. Moving across the battlefield as a lion at play, he was wise, compassionate, generous, and steadfast in self-restraint and vowed discipline. He stood as a support to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons; yet, proud, fiercely valorous, and quick to anger, he continually assailed us in every fight with weapons and with barbed words. Skilled in varied modes of combat, swift in releasing missiles, learned in the science of archery, and capable of astonishing feats—he was Karṇa, secretly born as Kuntī’s son and our elder brother; so we have heard.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Karṇa as a morally complex figure: endowed with wisdom, compassion, generosity, and disciplined vows, yet driven by pride and anger into relentless hostility. It highlights how virtues can coexist with destructive loyalties, and how hidden kinship intensifies the ethical tragedy of war.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes Karṇa’s extraordinary prowess and character—his unmatched strength and skill, his generosity and restraint, and his fierce antagonism toward the Pāṇḍavas—then states the crucial revelation: Karṇa was secretly born as Kuntī’s son and is their elder brother.