Shloka 18

Devanagari script

त्वद्धितार्थ तु शक्रेण मायापहृतकुण्डल: । विहीनकवचश्चायं कृत: परपुरंजय:,तुम्हारे हितके लिये इन्द्रने शत्रु-नगरीपर विजय पानेवाले कर्णके दोनों कुण्डल मायासे हर लिये और उसे कवचसे भी वंचित कर दिया

Transliteration

tvaddhitārthaṁ tu śakreṇa māyāpahṛta-kuṇḍalaḥ | vihīna-kavacaś cāyaṁ kṛtaḥ para-puraṁjayaḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu said: “For your welfare, Śakra (Indra) used deception to take away Karṇa’s two earrings, and thus made this conqueror of enemy cities bereft of his natural armor as well.” The statement frames a morally charged act—strategic and protective for one side, yet achieved through māyā—showing how war compels even the gods to employ questionable means in pursuit of a larger outcome.

Word by Word

त्वत्of you/your

हितार्थम्for (your) benefit/purpose

तुindeed/but

शक्रेणby Śakra (Indra)

मायापहृतकुण्डलःwhose earrings were taken away by deception

विहीनकवचःdeprived of (his) armor

चand

अयम्this (man)

कृतःwas made/was rendered

परपुरंजयःconqueror of enemy cities (epithet of Karṇa)

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

Śakra (Indra)

Karṇa

kuṇḍala (earrings)

kavaca (armor)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical tension in dharma during war: even divine powers may resort to māyā (deceptive strategy) to secure a perceived greater good. It invites reflection on whether ends justify means, and how protective intent can still involve morally ambiguous actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu explains that Indra, acting for the listener’s benefit, contrived to remove Karṇa’s divine earrings and thereby left him without his innate armor—reducing Karṇa’s near-invulnerability and shifting the balance in the impending conflict.