Shloka 293
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
येषां धर्मस्तान् प्रति नास्त्यधर्मो ह्यारट्टानां पजचनदान् धिगस्तु । कृतघ्नता
yeṣāṃ dharmas tān prati nāsty adharmo hy āraṭṭānāṃ pañcanadān dhig astu | kṛtaghnatā paradhanāpaharaṇaṃ madirāpānaṃ gurupatnīgamanam kaṭuvacanaprayogaḥ govadhaḥ rātrau gṛhād bahiḥ paribhramaṇaṃ paravastrabhogaś ca—ete sarve yeṣāṃ dharmāḥ, teṣām āraṭṭānāṃ pañcanadāvāsināṃ cādharmo nāma vastu nāsty eva | tebhyo dhig astu ||
Karna berkata, “Mereka yang menjadikan ‘dharma’ sebagai: tidak tahu berterima kasih, merampas harta orang lain, minum minuman keras, menodai istri guru, bertutur kasar, membunuh sapi, berkeliaran di luar rumah pada malam hari, serta memakai dan menikmati pakaian orang lain—bagi mereka tidak ada yang disebut ‘adharma’, sebab keburukanlah yang mereka jadikan aturan hidup. Malulah para Āraṭṭa dan penduduk Pañcanada itu!”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns a mindset where repeated wrongdoing is normalized as ‘dharma’; it asserts that when immoral acts become habitual and socially accepted, the very category of ‘adharma’ disappears for such people—hence the moral denunciation.
In Karna’s speech during the war narrative, he denounces certain groups (Āraṭṭas and Pañcanada inhabitants) by listing behaviors he deems gravely unrighteous, using this as rhetorical blame and moral vilification within the conflict context.