Shloka 38
अर्जुनकर्णसंनिपातवर्णनम् / The Convergence of Arjuna and Karṇa
योडसौ कृष्णामब्रवीद् दुष्टबुद्धि: कर्ण: सभायां कुरुवीरमध्ये । कि पाण्डवांस्त्वं न जहासि कृष्णे सुदुर्बलान् पतितान् हीनसत्त्वान्
yo 'sau kṛṣṇām abravīd duṣṭabuddhiḥ karṇaḥ sabhāyāṃ kuruvīramadhye | kiṃ pāṇḍavāṃs tvaṃ na jahāsi kṛṣṇe sudurbalān patitān hīnasattvān ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Aquel Karṇa de intención perversa—que, en la asamblea real, en medio de los héroes kuru, dirigió esas palabras a Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)—: “¿Por qué no te burlas entonces de los Pāṇḍavas, oh Kṛṣṇe, tan débiles, caídos y faltos de verdadero ánimo?”»
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech and public humiliation: cruel words spoken in a royal assembly become lasting moral injuries. It also shows how shame and remembered insults can fuel righteous anger and the demand for accountability in dharma-based kingship.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls Karṇa’s harsh words to Draupadī in the Kuru court and, addressing Draupadī as “Kṛṣṇe,” asks why she did not mock the Pāṇḍavas then as weak and fallen—an anguished reflection on their past disgrace and the taunts endured before the war.