Shloka 162
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
यथा हास्य भुजीौ पीनौ नागराजकरोपमौ
yathā hāsya bhujau pīnau nāgarāja-karopamau, rājendra! gajarāja-ke śuṇḍa-daṇḍa-ke samāna; jaisī isakī moṭī bhujāeṁ haiṁ tathā samasta śatruoṁ kā saṁhāra karane meṁ samartha jaisā isakā viśāla vakṣaḥsthala hai, usase sūcita hotā hai ki paraśurāma-jī kā yaha pratāpī śiṣya mahāmanasvī dharmātmā vaikartana karṇa koī prākṛta puruṣa nahīṁ hai.
Duryodhana dijo: “Así como sus brazos son gruesos y poderosos, semejantes a los antebrazos del rey de las serpientes y al bastón-tronco de un elefante soberano; y así como su ancho pecho parece capaz de aniquilar a todos los enemigos—estas señales muestran que Karṇa Vaikartana, el poderoso discípulo de Paraśurāma, magnánimo y justo, no es un hombre común.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
External signs of strength and discipline are used to infer inner excellence: Duryodhana reads Karna’s bodily marks as evidence of extraordinary training and destiny, framing him as a dharmic, formidable ally—while also hinting at how power and loyalty can be ethically complex in war.
In the Karna Parva battle context, Duryodhana extols Karna’s exceptional might—comparing his arms to a serpent-king’s forearms and an elephant-king’s trunk—and concludes that Parashurama’s disciple Karna is no ordinary warrior, thereby bolstering confidence in their side.