Shloka 36

Devanagari script

जानामि ते पार्थ वीर्य यथावद्‌ दुर्वारणीयं च सुरासुरैश्न । सदावजानाति हि पाण्डुपुत्रा- नसौ दर्पात्‌ सूतपुत्रो दुरात्मा,पार्थ! मैं तुम्हारे उस बल-पराक्रमको अच्छी तरह जानता हूँ, जिसका निवारण करना देवताओं और असुरोंके लिये भी कठिन है। दुरात्मा सूतपुत्र कर्ण घमंडमें आकर सदा पाण्डवोंका अपमान करता है

Transliteration

vāyudeva uvāca |

janāmi te pārtha vīryaṃ yathāvad durvāraṇīyaṃ ca surāsuraiḥ |

sadāvajānāti hi pāṇḍuputrān asau darpāt sūtaputro durātmā ||

Translation

Vāyu dit : «Ô Pārtha, je connais bien ta véritable puissance — si irrésistible que même dieux et asuras auraient peine à la contenir. Et pourtant, par orgueil, ce fils du sūta au cœur mauvais, Karṇa, ne cesse d’outrager les fils de Pāṇḍu.»

Word by Word

• {'janāmi': 'I know, I understand', 'te': 'your', 'pārtha': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)', 'vīryam': 'valor, strength, heroic power', 'yathāvat': 'as it truly is, properly, in full measure', 'durvāraṇīyam': 'hard to restrain, irresistible', 'surāsuraiḥ': 'by gods and asuras (demons/anti-gods)', 'sadā': 'always', 'avajānāti': 'disparages, insults, treats with contempt', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'pāṇḍuputrān': 'the sons of Pāṇḍu (the Pāṇḍavas)', 'asau': 'that (person)', 'darpāt': 'from pride, out of arrogance', 'sūtaputraḥ': 'son of a sūta (charioteer/bard lineage)

• epithet used for Karṇa', 'durātmā': 'evil-minded, wicked-souled'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Suras (gods)
• Asuras
• Pāṇḍuputras (Pāṇḍavas)
• Sūtaputra (Karṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True strength is recognized not merely in battle but in restraint and right conduct; pride (darpa) that expresses itself as contempt for others is ethically blameworthy and leads to further conflict and downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna, affirming Arjuna’s formidable, near-unstoppable prowess, and then points to Karṇa’s habitual, pride-driven disparagement of the Pāṇḍavas—framing Karṇa’s behavior as morally tainted and provocatively hostile.