Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अपन का बा | अत-#-#कत एकोनचत्वारिशोड ध्याय: शल्यका कर्णके प्रति अतन्त आक्षेपपूर्ण वचन कहना शल्य उवाच मा सूतपुत्र दानेन सौवर्ण हस्तिषड्गवम्‌ । प्रयच्छ पुरुषायाद्य द्रक्ष्यसि त्वं धनंजयम्‌,शल्य बोले--सूतपुत्र! तुम किसी पुरुषको हाथीके समान हृष्ट-पुष्ट छः: बैलोंसे जुता हुआ सोनेका रथ न दो। आज अवश्य ही अर्जुनको देखोगे

Transliteration

Śalya uvāca — mā sūtaputra dānena sauvarṇaṃ hastiṣaḍgavam | prayaccha puruṣāyādya drakṣyasi tvaṃ dhanañjayam ||

Translation

Shalya said: “O son of a charioteer, do not, by way of a gift, hand over today to any man that golden chariot drawn by six well-fed bulls, mighty as an elephant. For today you will surely behold Dhanañjaya (Arjuna).” In context, Shalya’s words are a sharp, taunting counsel meant to unsettle Karna’s confidence and to warn against reckless generosity that could weaken one’s preparedness on the eve of a decisive encounter.

Word by Word

• {'śalya uvāca': 'Shalya said', 'mā': 'do not', 'sūtaputra': 'son of a sūta (charioteer/bard)

• epithet for Karna', 'dānena': 'by giving

• through a gift', 'sauvarṇam': 'golden

• made of gold', 'hastiṣaḍgavam': 'drawn by six bulls, (strong) like an elephant

• a compound indicating great power/size', 'prayaccha': 'give, bestow, hand over', 'puruṣāya': 'to a man

• to some person', 'ādya': 'today', 'drakṣyasi': 'you will see', 'tvam': 'you', 'dhanañjayam': 'Dhanañjaya, i.e., Arjuna'}

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Karna (as Sūtaputra)
• Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• golden chariot
• six bulls

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a celebrated virtue like generosity must be governed by discernment and duty: on the brink of battle, reckless gifting that diminishes one’s readiness becomes ethically questionable within kṣatriya-dharma. Shalya frames this as a warning while also using it to provoke and destabilize Karna.

What is happening in the narrative?

Shalya addresses Karna with a cutting epithet (“sūtaputra”) and urges him not to give away a powerful golden chariot. He emphasizes that Karna will face Arjuna that very day, implying that Karna must not weaken himself before the imminent confrontation.