Shloka 34
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
इज्ितज्ञाश्व मगधा:ः प्रेक्षितज्ञाक्ष कोसला:
ijitayajñāśva-magadhāḥ prekṣitayajñākṣa-kosalāḥ | magadhadeśake lokā īśāreṇaiva sarvaṃ vākyārthaṃ budhyante | kosalanivāsinaḥ netrayoḥ bhāvabhaṅgyā manobhāvaṃ jānanti | kuru-pāñcāladeśakāḥ ardhaṃ vacanaṃ uktamātreṇaiva pūrṇārthaṃ gṛhṇanti | śālvadeśanivāsinaḥ sarvaṃ vacanaṃ uktvāpi tadā budhyante | kintu śibideśīyānām iva parvatīya-prāntanivāsinaḥ sarvebhyaḥ vilakṣaṇāḥ | te sarvaṃ vacanaṃ uktvāpi na budhyante ||
Karna berkata: “Orang-orang Magadha menangkap perkara hanya dari sebuah isyarat; orang Kosala membaca isi hati dari gerak dan sorot mata. Kaum Kuru dan Panchala memahami seluruh maksud meski baru separuh diucapkan. Orang Shalva mengerti hanya setelah semuanya disampaikan lengkap. Namun penduduk perbatasan pegunungan—seperti orang Shibi—berbeda dari semuanya: sekalipun segala hal telah dikatakan, mereka tetap tidak memahami.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights gradations of comprehension—some grasp meaning from hints or expressions, others need full explanation, and some fail even then—implying that effective counsel and strategy depend on knowing the listener’s capacity to understand.
Karna is speaking and characterizing different peoples by how quickly they understand speech and signs, using these comparisons to make a pointed remark about comprehension (and lack of it) among certain groups.