Shloka 27
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
गव्यस्य तृप्ता मांसस्य पीत्वा गौडं सुरासवम् | गौरीभि: सह नसिभिर्बृहतीभि: स्वलंकृता:
gavyasya tṛptā māṁsasya pītvā gauḍaṁ surāsavam | gaurībhiḥ saha nasibhir bṛhatībhiḥ svalankṛtāḥ |
Karna said: “Sated with beef and meat, and having drunk a sweet, molasses-based intoxicant, they—adorned and in the company of fair women—moved about with large swords. The scene evokes moral decline and reckless indulgence, contrasting self-control and dharma with intoxication, violence, and ostentatious display.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how indulgence in meat and intoxicants can accompany loss of restraint and a turn toward violence and display. In the Mahabharata’s ethical frame, such intoxicated bravado stands opposed to disciplined kṣatriya conduct and dharmic self-control.
Karna describes a group as feasting on meat, drinking a sweet fermented liquor, and then moving about richly adorned, accompanied by women, and carrying large swords—painting a picture of revelry linked with readiness for aggression.