Shloka 293
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
मद्रके संगतं नास्ति मद्रको हि सदामल: । मद्रनिवासीके साथ न तो वैर करे और न मित्रता ही स्थापित करे, क्योंकि उसमें सौहार्दकी भावना नहीं होती। मद्रनिवासी सदा पापमें ही डूबा रहता है
madrake saṅgataṃ nāsti madrako hi sadāmalaḥ |
Dijo Karna: «Con un hombre de Madra no puede haber trato verdadero, pues el madraka está siempre manchado. Por ello, no se debe entablar enemistad ni establecer amistad con un habitante de Madra, ya que carece de disposición para la buena voluntad sincera y permanece hundido en la maldad.»
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against forming close bonds—whether friendship or enmity—with those portrayed as lacking goodwill and moral steadiness, implying that association should be guided by discernment of character and ethical reliability.
Karna is speaking in the Karna Parva and delivers a harsh, generalized judgement about the people of Madra, using it as counsel about whom to associate with during the tense, conflict-driven circumstances of the war narrative.