Shloka 39

Devanagari script

अहं सर्वान्‌ महाराज निहनिष्यामि सोमकान्‌ । पज्चालान्‌ केकयै: सार्थ करूषांश्वनेति भारत,“महाराज! भरतनन्दन! मैं केकयोंसहित सम्पूर्ण सोमकों, पांचालों और करूषोंको मार डालूँगा--आपकी यह बात सत्य हो। भारत! आप युद्धमें सामने आये हुए कुन्तीपुत्रों और महाधनुर्धर सोमकोंका वध कीजिये और ऐसा करके अपने वचनको सत्य कीजिये

Transliteration

ahaṁ sarvān mahārāja nihaniṣyāmi somakān | pāñcālān kekayaiḥ sārthaṁ karūṣāṁś caiva te bhārata ||

Translation

Karna berkata: “Wahai raja agung, wahai Bhārata! Aku akan membinasakan semua Somaka—bersama para Pañcāla, juga kaum Kekaya, dan Karūṣa.”

Word by Word

• {'ahaṁ': 'I', 'sarvān': 'all (of them), entire', 'mahārāja': 'O great king', 'nihaniṣyāmi': 'I shall strike down, I shall kill', 'somakān': 'the Somakas (a clan allied with the Pandavas

• often connected with the Panchalas)', 'pāñcālān': 'the Panchalas (Drupada’s people)', 'kekayaiḥ': 'with the Kekayas (a people/kingdom

• allies through kinship ties)', 'sārtham': 'together with, in company with', 'karūṣān': 'the Karushas (a people/region)', 'ca eva': 'and indeed/also', 'te': 'your/for you (contextual address)', 'bhārata': 'O Bharata (descendant of Bharata

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Mahārāja (addressed king, i.e., Duryodhana in context)
• Somakas
• Panchalas
• Kekayas
• Karushas
• Bharata (dynastic epithet)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Mahabharata’s tension between proclaimed kshatriya-duty and the moral cost of war: a warrior’s vow of loyalty and victory can normalize collective slaughter, showing how dharma becomes contested and ethically strained on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna addresses the Kuru king and declares a martial pledge: he will personally destroy key Pandava-aligned clans—Somakas, Panchalas, Kekayas, and Karushas—asserting confidence and commitment to his side’s war aims.