Shloka 22
Śikhaṇḍinī’s Disclosure, Drupada’s Counsel, and the Petition to Yakṣa Sthūṇākarṇa
Udyoga Parva 192
वासुदेवसमायुक्त रथेनायान्तमाहवे । समागच्छसि राधेय तेनैवमभिमन्यसे । शक्यमेवं च भूयश्न त्वया वक्तुं यथेष्टत:,बड़े-बड़े अस्त्रोंके ज्ञाता कर्णने पाँच ही दिनोंमें पाण्डवसेनाको नष्ट करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा की। सूतपुत्रका यह कथन सुनकर गंगानन्दन भीष्मजी ठहाका मारकर हँस पड़े और यह वचन बोले--'राधापुत्र! जबतक युद्धभूमिमें शंख, बाण और धनुष धारण करनेवाले श्रीकृष्णसहित अर्जुनको तुम एक ही रथसे आते हुए नहीं देखते और जबतक उनके साथ तुम्हारी मुठभेड़ नहीं होती, तभीतक ऐसा अभिमान प्रकट करते हो, तुम इच्छानुसार और भी ऐसी बहुत-सी बहकी-बहकी बातें कह सकते हो”
sañjaya uvāca | vāsudeva-samāyuktaṁ rathenāyāntam āhave | samāgacchasi rādhēya tenaivam abhimanyase | śakyam evaṁ ca bhūyaś ca tvayā vaktuṁ yatheṣṭataḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O Rādheya (Karna), you speak with such pride only so long as you have not yet met, on the field of battle, that warrior who advances in a single chariot accompanied by Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa). Until you actually confront him, you can, if you wish, go on uttering many more such boasts.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques premature pride: confidence not tested by direct encounter is mere boasting. Ethically, it warns against speech driven by arrogance and urges humility until one has faced the true measure of an opponent.
In the Udyoga Parva context, Karṇa has made bold claims about destroying the Pāṇḍava forces quickly. The speaker (as reported by Sañjaya) counters that such bravado lasts only until Karṇa actually meets the warrior who comes in one chariot with Kṛṣṇa—i.e., Arjuna with Vāsudeva as charioteer—implying that the real test will silence empty boasts.