Shloka 22
Draupadī-apaharaṇa-saṃdeśaḥ
Report of Draupadī’s Abduction and the Pāṇḍavas’ Pursuit
ज्ञात्वैतच्छझना वज्ी रक्षार्थ सव्यसाचिन: । कुण्डले कवचं चैव कर्णस्यापहरिष्यति,इस बातको समझकर वज्धारी इन्द्र अर्जुनकी रक्षाके लिये छल करके कर्णके कुण्डल और कवचका अपहरण कर लेंगे
jñātvaitac chalanā vajrī rakṣārthaṃ savyasācinaḥ | kuṇḍale kavacaṃ caiva karṇasyāpahariṣyati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Understanding this stratagem, Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, will—seeking to protect Arjuna—resort to deception and take away Karṇa’s earrings and his natural armor.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension within dharma: even a protective motive (saving Arjuna) can lead to ethically questionable means (deception and dispossession). It invites reflection on whether ends justify means, especially when power—here divine power—acts with partiality in human conflict.
Vaiśampāyana foretells that Indra, to safeguard his son Arjuna, will use a ruse to obtain Karṇa’s divine earrings and inborn armor—items that make Karṇa nearly invulnerable—thereby reducing Karṇa’s advantage ahead of the great war.