Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अजेया: पुरुषैरन्यैरिति तांश्लोत्सहामहे । विजयिष्ये रणे पाण्डूनिति मे निश्चितं मन:,पाण्डवों तथा भगवान्‌ वासुदेवको मैं सब प्रकारसे जानता हूँ, वे दूसरे पुरुषोंके लिये सर्वथा अजेय हैं, तथापि मैं उनसे युद्ध करनेका उत्साह रखता हूँ और मेरे मनका यह निश्चित विश्वास है कि मैं युद्धमें पाण्डवोंको जीत लूँगा

Transliteration

ajeyāḥ puruṣair anyair iti tāñ ślotsahāmahe | vijayiṣye raṇe pāṇḍūn iti me niścitaṃ manaḥ ||

Translation

Karna said: “I know that the Pandavas—along with the Blessed Vasudeva—are invincible to other men. Even so, I am filled with eagerness to face them in battle, and my mind is firmly resolved: I shall defeat the Pandavas in war.”

Word by Word

• {'ajeyāḥ': 'unconquerable, not to be defeated', 'puruṣaiḥ': 'by men, by persons (instrumental plural)', 'anyaiḥ': 'by others', 'iti': 'thus

• marking reported thought/statement', 'tān': 'them (accusative plural

• referring to the Pandavas)', 'utsahāmahe (utsahāmahe/utsahāmi)': 'I am eager

• I muster enthusiasm/resolve (sense: to be spirited for action)', 'vijayiṣye': 'I shall conquer

• I will be victorious (future, 1st person singular)', 'raṇe': 'in battle, in war', 'pāṇḍūn': 'the sons of Pandu

• the Pandavas (accusative plural)', 'me': 'my', 'niścitam': 'settled, determined, firmly ascertained', 'manaḥ': 'mind, intention, resolve', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• venerable divine person', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vasudeva (Krishna), son/descendant of Vasudeva'}

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Pandavas
• Vasudeva (Krishna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between clear recognition of an opponent’s extraordinary strength (the Pandavas supported by Krishna) and the warrior’s personal resolve and pride. It illustrates how determination can persist even against near-certain odds, raising ethical questions about ambition, overconfidence, and the limits of human agency when divine support is present.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna declares his assessment of the battlefield reality: the Pandavas, with Vasudeva (Krishna), are effectively unconquerable for ordinary men. Yet he asserts his own enthusiasm to fight them and states a firm inner conviction that he will defeat them in the war.