Shloka 21
योडसौ रणे नर नान्यं पृथिव्यामनुमन्यते । तस्याद्य सूतपुत्रस्य भूमि: पास्यति शोणितम्,“जो भूमण्डलमें दूसरे किसी पुरुषको रणभूमिमें अपने समान नहीं मानता है, आज यह पृथ्वी उस सूतपुत्रके रक्तका पान करेगी
yo 'sau raṇe nara nānyaṃ pṛthivyām anumanyate | tasyādya sūtaputrasya bhūmiḥ pāsyati śoṇitam ||
“जो रणभूमि में पृथ्वी पर किसी अन्य पुरुष को अपने समान नहीं मानता—आज वही सूतपुत्र अपना रक्त इस धरती को पिलाएगा।”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical irony of martial pride: the warrior who refuses to recognize equals is still subject to mortality and the consequences of war; arrogance and invincibility-claims collapse before time, fate, and the brutal reality of battle.
Sañjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, foretells imminent bloodshed: the famed ‘sūtaputra’ (Karna), known for considering none his equal in battle, is about to be struck down—so the earth will ‘drink’ his blood.