Shloka 21

Ritual Acclamation at Hastināpura and Karṇa’s Vow Concerning Arjuna (राजकीय स्तुति-प्रसङ्गः कर्णप्रतिज्ञा च)

Devanagari script

अधर्मो हि कृतस्तेन येनैतदुपशिक्षितम्‌ | अनृशंसास्तु कौन्तेयास्तत्‌ प्रत्यक्ष ब्रवीमि व:,“जिसने दुर्योधनको यह सलाह दी है कि वह वनमें पाण्डवोंसे मिलकर उनकी हँसी उड़ावे, उसने बड़ा भारी पाप किया है। कुन्तीके पुत्र कभी क्रूरतापूर्ण बर्ताव नहीं करते, मैं यह बात आपलोगोंके सामने कह रहा हूँ!

Transliteration

adharmo hi kṛtas tena yenaitad upaśikṣitam | anṛśaṃsās tu kaunteyās tat pratyakṣaṃ bravīmi vaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “A grave wrong has been committed by the one who instructed this—whoever advised that Duryodhana should go to the forest, meet the Pāṇḍavas, and mock them. The sons of Kuntī are not cruel by nature; I declare this plainly before you all.”

Word by Word

• {'adharmaḥ': 'unrighteousness, violation of dharma', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'kṛtaḥ': 'done, committed', 'tena': 'by him, by that person', 'yena': 'by whom, whoever', 'etat': 'this (plan/act)', 'upaśikṣitam': 'instructed, advised, taught (as a course of action)', 'anṛśaṃsāḥ': 'not cruel

• free from harshness', 'tu': 'but, indeed (contrast/emphasis)', 'kaunteyāḥ': 'the sons of Kuntī (Pāṇḍavas)', 'tat': 'that (fact/point)', 'pratyakṣam': 'directly, plainly, in your presence', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare', 'vaḥ': 'to you (plural)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Duryodhana
• Pāṇḍavas
• Kuntī (as 'Kuntī’s sons/Kaunteyas')
• forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns unethical counsel: instigating humiliation and mockery is itself adharma, and the adviser bears moral blame. It also affirms the Pāṇḍavas’ character as fundamentally non-cruel, highlighting compassion as a dharmic trait.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments on a scheme in which Duryodhana is urged to approach the Pāṇḍavas during their forest exile and ridicule them. He denounces the instigator’s act as adharma and states openly that the sons of Kuntī do not behave with cruelty.