Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अजेया: पुरुषैरन्यैरिति तांश्लोत्सहामहे । विजयिष्ये रणे पाण्डूनिति मे निश्चितं मन:

Transliteration

ajeyāḥ puruṣair anyair iti tāñ ślotsahāmahe | vijayiṣye raṇe pāṇḍūn iti me niścitaṃ manaḥ ||

Translation

Karna dit : «Je sais que les Pāṇḍava—avec le Bienheureux Vasudeva—sont invincibles pour les autres hommes. Pourtant, je suis rempli d’ardeur à les affronter au combat, et mon esprit est arrêté : je vaincrai les Pāṇḍava dans la guerre.»

Word by Word

• {'ajeyāḥ': 'unconquerable, not to be defeated', 'puruṣaiḥ': 'by men, by persons (instrumental plural)', 'anyaiḥ': 'by others', 'iti': 'thus

• marking reported thought/statement', 'tān': 'them (accusative plural

• referring to the Pandavas)', 'utsahāmahe (utsahāmahe/utsahāmi)': 'I am eager

• I muster enthusiasm/resolve (sense: to be spirited for action)', 'vijayiṣye': 'I shall conquer

• I will be victorious (future, 1st person singular)', 'raṇe': 'in battle, in war', 'pāṇḍūn': 'the sons of Pandu

• the Pandavas (accusative plural)', 'me': 'my', 'niścitam': 'settled, determined, firmly ascertained', 'manaḥ': 'mind, intention, resolve', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• venerable divine person', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vasudeva (Krishna), son/descendant of Vasudeva'}

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Pandavas
• Vasudeva (Krishna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between clear recognition of an opponent’s extraordinary strength (the Pandavas supported by Krishna) and the warrior’s personal resolve and pride. It illustrates how determination can persist even against near-certain odds, raising ethical questions about ambition, overconfidence, and the limits of human agency when divine support is present.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna declares his assessment of the battlefield reality: the Pandavas, with Vasudeva (Krishna), are effectively unconquerable for ordinary men. Yet he asserts his own enthusiasm to fight them and states a firm inner conviction that he will defeat them in the war.