Shloka 20
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
खरोष्टाश्वतरैश्वैव मत्ता यास्यामहे सुखम् । शमीपीलुकरीराणां वनेषु सुखवर्त्मसु,“कब हमलोग मदोन्मत्त हो गदहे, ऊँट और खच्चरोंकी सवारीद्वारा सुखद मार्गोंवाले शमी, पीलु और करीलोंके जंगलोंमें सुखसे यात्रा करेंगे
kharoṣṭāśvataraiś caiva mattā yāsyāmahe sukham | śamīpīlukarīrāṇāṁ vaneṣu sukhavartmasu ||
Karna said: “When shall we, intoxicated with carefree delight, travel at ease—riding on donkeys, camels, and mules—through the forests of śamī, pīlu, and karīra, along paths that are pleasant to tread?” In the war’s grim setting, the line carries a bitter, ironic longing for a simple, non-heroic life far from the demands of kṣatriya violence and rivalry.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mighty warrior’s mind can yearn for a humble, peaceful life; the verse highlights the inner cost of violence and ambition, and the contrast between kṣatriya duty in war and the human desire for ease and simplicity.
In Karṇa Parva’s war context, Karna speaks with ironic nostalgia, imagining a carefree journey through arid-forest landscapes (śamī–pīlu–karīra) on lowly mounts, implicitly contrasting that imagined peace with the harsh reality of the battlefield.