Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अपन का बछ। ] अतपकडफा<ज द्विसप्ततितमो< ध्याय: शत्रुओंको मारनेके लिये उद्यत हुए भीमको युधिष्ठटिरका शान्त करना कर्ण उवाच या नः श्रुता मनुष्येषु स्त्रियो रूपेण सम्मता: । तासामेतादृशं कर्म न कस्याश्वन शुश्रुम,कर्ण बोला--मैंने मनुष्योंमें जिन सुन्दरी स्त्रियोंके नाम सुने हैं, उनमेंसे किसीने भी ऐसा अदभुत कार्य किया हो, यह मेरे सुननेमें नहीं आया

Transliteration

karṇa uvāca | yā naḥ śrutā manuṣyeṣu striyo rūpeṇa sammatāḥ | tāsām etādṛśaṃ karma na kasyāśvana śuśruma |

Translation

Karna dit : «Parmi les hommes, nous avons entendu parler de femmes célébrées pour leur beauté ; mais nous n’avons jamais entendu qu’aucune d’entre elles ait accompli un acte semblable à celui-ci.»

Word by Word

याwhom/which (f.)

नःof us / our

श्रुताheard of

मनुष्येषुamong men / in mankind

स्त्रियःwomen

रूपेणby beauty / in form

सम्मताःconsidered/esteemed

तासाम्of those (women)

एतादृशम्such (of this kind)

कर्मdeed, act

नnot

कस्यof whom / of anyone

अश्वन्in a horse (reading uncertain)

शुश्रुमI have heard

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how extraordinary actions can redefine reputation beyond conventional measures like beauty or social acclaim; it also shows how praise in a royal assembly can be used rhetorically to steer moral judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sabha (royal court) setting, Karna comments with astonishment that even among women famed for beauty, he has never heard of anyone performing such a deed—framing the act as unprecedented and influencing how the court interprets it.