Shloka 28

सूर्य–कर्णोपदेशः

Sūrya’s Counsel to Karṇa on Kīrti and the Kuṇḍala

Devanagari script

नावो न सन्ति सेनाया बह्वदयस्तारयितुं तथा । वणिजामुपघातं च कथमस्मद्विधश्चरेत्‌,“इतनी बड़ी सेनाको पार उतारनेके लिये हमलोगोंके पास अधिक नौकाएँ भी नहीं हैं। (यदि कहें, व्यापारियोंके जहाजोंसे काम लिया जाय, तो) मेरे-जैसा पुरुष अपने स्वार्थके लिये व्यापारियोंके व्यवसायको हानि कैसे पहुँचा सकता है?

Transliteration

nāvo na santi senāyā bahv-ādyās tārayituṃ tathā | vaṇijām upaghātaṃ ca katham asmad-vidhaś caret ||

Translation

“We do not have enough boats to ferry so vast an army across. And if one suggests using the merchants’ vessels, how could a man like me, for his own purpose, harm the livelihood and enterprise of traders?”

Word by Word

• {'nāvaḥ (nāvo)': 'boats, ships', 'na santi': 'are not (available), do not exist', 'senāyāḥ (senāyā)': 'of the army', 'bahu-ādyāḥ (bahv-ādyās)': 'many and such (means), numerous resources of that kind', 'tārayitum': 'to ferry across, to carry over', 'tathā': 'thus, in that manner', 'vaṇijām': 'of merchants, traders', 'upaghātam': 'injury, damage, harm', 'ca': 'and', 'katham': 'how?', 'asmad-vidhaḥ': 'one like me, a person of my kind', 'caret': 'could act, should behave'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• senā (army)
• nāvaḥ (boats/ships)
• vaṇijaḥ (merchants/traders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in urgent or large-scale undertakings, one should not pursue success by harming innocent livelihoods; righteous means (dharma) constrain practical choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya explains a practical obstacle—insufficient boats to transport a huge army—and rejects the alternative of commandeering merchants’ ships because it would damage their trade and be ethically improper.