Shloka 29
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
कृतघ्नता परवित्तापहारो मद्यपानं गुरुदारावमर्द: । वाक्पारुष्यं गोवधो रात्रिचर्या बहिर्गेहं परवस्त्रोपभोग:
kṛtaghnatā paravittāpahāro madyapānaṃ gurudārāvamardaḥ | vākpāruṣyaṃ govadho rātricaryā bahirgehaṃ paravastrōpabhogaḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Tidak tahu berterima kasih, merampas harta orang lain, meminum minuman memabukkan, menodai istri guru, ucapan yang kasar dan menghina, membunuh sapi, berkeliaran pada malam hari demi maksud yang tidak patut, tinggal di luar rumah sendiri, serta mengenakan atau menikmati pakaian milik orang lain—semua itu adalah perbuatan yang menandai kemerosotan moral dan mendatangkan cela dalam tatanan dharma.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists behaviors condemned by dharma—ingratitude, theft, intoxication, sexual violation (especially involving the teacher’s wife), abusive speech, cow-killing, and other socially destructive acts—presenting them as markers of ethical degradation and sources of blame.
Karna is speaking in a didactic mode, enumerating actions regarded as grave moral faults. The statement functions as ethical instruction within the broader war-time discourse, emphasizing that even amid conflict, certain transgressions remain censurable.