Shloka 13
संजय उवाच इति कर्णस्य वाक्यान्ते शल्य: प्राहोत्तरं वच: । चुकोपयिषुरत्यर्थ कर्ण मद्रेश्वर: पुन:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! कर्णकी यह बात समाप्त होते ही मद्रराज शल्य उसे अत्यन्त कुपित करनेकी इच्छासे पुनः इस प्रकार उत्तर देने लगे--
sañjaya uvāca iti karṇasya vākyānte śalyaḥ prāhottaraṃ vacaḥ | cukopayiṣur atyarthaṃ karṇa madrēśvaraḥ punaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: When Karna had finished speaking, Shalya, the lord of Madra, replied. Intending to provoke Karna into intense anger once again, he began to answer in these words—setting the moral tension between counsel and sabotage amid the duties of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech in a dharmic setting carries responsibility: words can guide, heal, or deliberately inflame. This verse highlights the ethical fault-line between truthful counsel and manipulative provocation, especially dangerous in war where anger can eclipse judgment.
After Karna finishes speaking, Shalya responds. The narrator notes Shalya’s intention: he wants to anger Karna greatly again, and therefore begins his reply in a way meant to provoke.