Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यदाप्रभृति कर्णाय शक्तिर्दत्ता महात्मना । वासवेन महाबाहो क्षिप्ता यासै घटोत्कचे,महाबाहो! जबसे महात्मा इन्द्रने कर्णको उसके दिव्य कवच और कुण्डलोंके बदलेमें अपनी शक्ति दी थी, जिसे उसने घटोत्कचपर चला दिया है, उस शक्तिको पाकर धर्मात्मा कर्ण सदा तुम्हें रणभूमिमें मारा गया ही मानता था

Transliteration

yadāprabhṛti karṇāya śaktir dattā mahātmanā | vāsavena mahābāho kṣiptā yāsai ghaṭotkace ||

Translation

Wahai yang berlengan perkasa, sejak saat Vāsava (Indra) yang berhati luhur menganugerahkan kepada Karṇa senjata Śakti—sebagai ganti zirah dan anting surgawinya—dan senjata itu kemudian dilemparkan kepada Ghaṭotkaca, sejak itulah Karṇa senantiasa menganggap engkau di medan laga telah terbunuh.

Word by Word

यदाwhen

आप्रभृतिfrom (that time) onwards

कर्णायto Karna

शक्तिःthe spear/weapon (Shakti)

दत्ताgiven

महात्मनाby the great-souled one

वासवेनby Vasava (Indra)

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

क्षिप्ताhurled

याwhich

असैwas

घटोत्कचेupon Ghaṭotkaca

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva

Karṇa

Vāsava (Indra)

Śakti (Indra’s weapon)

Ghaṭotkaca

Kavaca (divine armor)

Kuṇḍala (divine earrings)

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 highlights how reliance on extraordinary divine gifts can create overconfidence and a sense of predetermined victory, raising ethical questions about merit, fairness, and the shifting balance between human effort and divine intervention in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva recalls that Indra gave Karṇa the divine Śakti in exchange for Karṇa’s innate celestial armor and earrings; Karṇa later used that Śakti against Ghaṭotkaca. After obtaining (and using) it, Karṇa habitually assumed his opponent addressed here as ‘mahābāho’ was as good as already killed in battle.