Shloka 26
कदा वाहेयिका गाथा: पुनर्गास्यामि शाकले,पलाण्डुगंडूषयुतान् खादन्ती चैडकान् बहून् । “मैं वस्त्राभूषणोंसे विभूषित हो गोमांस खाकर और गुड़की बनी हुई मदिरा पीकर तृप्त हो अंजलि भर प्याजके साथ बहुत-सी भेड़ोंको खाती हुई गोरे रंगकी लंबी युवती स्त्रियोंके साथ मिलकर इस शाकल नगरमें पुन: कब इस तरहकी बाहीकसम्बन्धी गाथाओंका गान करूँगी
kadā vāheyikā gāthāḥ punar gāsyāmi śākale, palāṇḍu-gaṇḍūṣa-yutān khādantī ca eḍakān bahūn |
Karna said: “When shall I again, in Śākala, sing once more those ballads of the Vāheya (Bāhīka) land—while eating many rams, with mouthfuls of onions?” In context, the line is a bitter, ironic recollection of the coarse revelry associated with the Bāhīkas of the north-west, contrasting such indulgent, culturally ‘outsider’ pleasures with the grim discipline and moral strain of the battlefield. It functions as a taunt and a self-revealing aside: amid war, Karna evokes a life of feasting and song that is now inaccessible, underscoring how desire and identity persist even under the demands of kṣatriya-dharma.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly cravings and cultural identities can surface even amid the strict demands of war-duty. By recalling coarse feasting and song, it implicitly contrasts indulgence with the austerity and ethical pressure of kṣatriya life on the battlefield.
Karna, speaking during the Karṇa Parva war setting, evokes Śākala and ‘Vāheya/Bāhīka’ ballads, imagining himself singing again while eating rams with mouthfuls of onions. The recollection functions as a sardonic aside/taunt, painting a vivid picture of non-courtly revelry against the grim present of combat.