Shloka 44

Devanagari script

कर्ण उवाच ईशानस्य यथा ब्रह्मा यथा पार्थस्य केशव: । तथा नित्य हिते युक्तो मद्रराज भवस्व न:

Transliteration

karṇa uvāca īśānasya yathā brahmā yathā pārthasya keśavaḥ | tathā nitya-hite yukto madrarāja bhavasva naḥ ||

Translation

Karna berkata: “Sebagaimana Brahmā setia seiring dengan Īśāna (Śiva), dan sebagaimana Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) teguh bersama Pārtha (Arjuna), demikian pula, wahai raja Madra, jadilah engkau senantiasa berpihak pada kesejahteraan kami.”

Word by Word

कर्णःKarna

उवाचsaid

ईशानस्यof Ishana (Shiva)

यथाas/just as

ब्रह्माBrahma

यथाas/just as

पार्थस्यof Partha (Arjuna)

केशवःKeshava (Krishna)

तथाso/in the same way

नित्यin what is constant/always (i.e., always)

हितेin welfare/benefit

युक्तःjoined/engaged/devoted

मद्रराजO king of Madra

भवbe/become

नःof us/our

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Īśāna (Śiva)

Brahmā

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)

Madrarāja (Śalya)

Madra

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?

Karna urges steadfast loyalty to one’s side: a ruler should be consistently committed to the enduring welfare of his allies, exemplified by paradigmatic divine-human partnerships (Brahmā with Śiva; Kṛṣṇa with Arjuna).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Karṇa Parva war context, Karna addresses the king of Madra (Śalya), pressing him to align his conduct and counsel with the Kaurava cause and to act in a way that benefits “us” (Karna’s side) without wavering.