Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कर्ण उवाच रड्रो5यं सर्वसामान्य: किमत्र तव फाल्गुन । वीर्यश्रेष्ठाश्न॒ राजानो बल॑ धर्मोडनुवर्तते,कर्णने कहा--अर्जुन! यह रंगमण्डप तो सबके लिये साधारण है, इसमें तुम्हारा क्या लगा है? जो बल और पराक्रममें श्रेष्ठ होते हैं, वे ही राजा कहलानेयोग्य हैं। धर्म भी बलका ही अनुसरण करता है

Transliteration

karṇa uvāca | raṅgo ’yaṃ sarva-sāmānyaḥ kim atra tava phālguna | vīrya-śreṣṭhā hi rājāno balaṃ dharmo ’nuvartate ||

Translation

Karna said: “O Phalguna (Arjuna), this arena is common to all—what special claim do you have here? Those who are foremost in valor are the ones fit to be called kings; and dharma, too, follows the lead of strength.”

Word by Word

कर्णःKarna

उवाचsaid

रणःbattle/arena

अयम्this

सर्व-सामान्यःcommon to all

किम्what

अत्रhere

तवof you/your

फाल्गुनO Phalguna (Arjuna)

वीर्य-श्रेष्ठाःbest in prowess

राजानःkings

बलम्strength

धर्मःdharma/law

अनुवर्ततेfollows

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Arjuna (Phalguna)

raṅga (arena)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karna asserts a hard, kshatriya-leaning view of political legitimacy: rulership and public honor belong to those proven superior in strength and valor, and he provocatively claims that even dharma tends to align with power.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the public arena setting, Karna confronts Arjuna, arguing that the stage is open to all competitors and challenging any exclusive claim; he frames the contest as a test of prowess that determines who deserves royal status.