Shloka 21
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
ब्राह्मणो5स्मि युधां श्रेष्ठ: सर्वशस्त्रभूतां वर: । ब्राह्मे पौरंदरे चास्त्रे नेष्ठितो गुरुशआसनात्
brāhmaṇo 'smi yudhāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṁ varaḥ | brāhme paurandare cāstre neṣṭhito guruśāsanāt ||
Karna berkata— “Aku seorang brāhmaṇa, wahai yang terbaik di antara para pejuang; di antara para pemanggul senjata akulah yang terdepan. Dalam Brahmāstra dan senjata Purandara (Indra) aku telah ditempa sepenuhnya, menurut titah guruku.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between proclaimed identity and inner truth, and how authority (a guru’s instruction) and mastery of power (divine weapons) can be invoked to claim legitimacy. It implicitly raises questions of dharma: whether excellence and training justify status-claims, and what moral cost follows from misrepresentation.
Karna is asserting his status and martial superiority, declaring himself a brāhmaṇa and claiming accomplished training in the highest astras—Brahmā’s and Indra’s—received under a teacher’s direction. The statement functions as a credential in a competitive or confrontational setting, establishing his right to be recognized as an elite warrior and weapons-expert.