Shloka 26

Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)

Devanagari script

कर्ण उवाच दिष्टया काम: सुसंवृत्तो दिष्टया कौरव वर्धसे । दिष्टया ते शत्रवो मग्ना दुस्तरे व्यसनार्णवे,कर्ण बोला--कुरुनन्दन! सौभाग्यसे हमारा काम बन गया। तुम्हारा अभ्युदय हो रहा है, यह भी भाग्यकी ही बात है। तुम्हारे शत्रु विपत्तिके अपार महासागरमें डूब गये, यह कितने सौभाग्यकी बात है?

Transliteration

karṇa uvāca diṣṭyā kāmaḥ susaṃvṛtto diṣṭyā kaurava vardhase | diṣṭyā te śatravo magnā dustare vyasanārṇave ||

Translation

Karna said: “By good fortune, our purpose has been successfully accomplished. By good fortune, O Kaurava, you are prospering. And by good fortune, your enemies have sunk into an unfathomable ocean of calamity.”

Word by Word

• कर्णः: Karna
• कर्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• दिष्ट्या: by good fortune; luckily
• दिष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• कामः: desire; purpose
• कामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुसंवृत्तः: well-accomplished; successfully fulfilled
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-संवृत्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दिष्ट्या: by good fortune; luckily
• दिष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• कौरव: O Kaurava
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• वर्धसे: you prosper; you grow
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृध्
• Form: Present (Laṭ), Second, Singular, Atmanepada

• दिष्ट्या: by good fortune; luckily
• दिष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• ते: your
• ते: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• शत्रवः: enemies
• शत्रवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मग्नाः: sunk; submerged
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मग्न
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दुस्तरे: in the hard-to-cross
• दुस्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुस्तर
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• व्यसन-अर्णवे: in the ocean of calamity
• व्यसन-अर्णवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यसन-अर्णव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karṇa
• Kaurava (a Kuru prince; likely Duryodhana as addressee)
• Śatravaḥ (enemies, unspecified)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how success and ruin are often framed as outcomes of diṣṭi (destiny/fortune) in epic discourse. Ethically, it shows a courtly tendency to celebrate an ally’s rise and an enemy’s suffering, raising questions about dharma when triumph is measured by another’s downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna addresses a Kaurava prince and offers congratulatory words: their objective has been achieved, the prince is prospering, and the opposing side has been overwhelmed by severe adversity—described metaphorically as sinking in an uncrossable ocean of calamity.