Shloka 26
Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)
कर्ण उवाच दिष्टया काम: सुसंवृत्तो दिष्टया कौरव वर्धसे । दिष्टया ते शत्रवो मग्ना दुस्तरे व्यसनार्णवे,कर्ण बोला--कुरुनन्दन! सौभाग्यसे हमारा काम बन गया। तुम्हारा अभ्युदय हो रहा है, यह भी भाग्यकी ही बात है। तुम्हारे शत्रु विपत्तिके अपार महासागरमें डूब गये, यह कितने सौभाग्यकी बात है?
karṇa uvāca diṣṭyā kāmaḥ susaṃvṛtto diṣṭyā kaurava vardhase | diṣṭyā te śatravo magnā dustare vyasanārṇave ||
Karna berkata, “Berkat keberuntungan, maksud kita telah terlaksana dengan sempurna. Berkat keberuntungan, wahai Kaurava, engkau kian berjaya. Dan berkat keberuntungan pula, musuh-musuhmu telah tenggelam ke samudra malapetaka yang tak terseberangi.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how success and ruin are often framed as outcomes of diṣṭi (destiny/fortune) in epic discourse. Ethically, it shows a courtly tendency to celebrate an ally’s rise and an enemy’s suffering, raising questions about dharma when triumph is measured by another’s downfall.
Karna addresses a Kaurava prince and offers congratulatory words: their objective has been achieved, the prince is prospering, and the opposing side has been overwhelmed by severe adversity—described metaphorically as sinking in an uncrossable ocean of calamity.