Shloka 29

कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma

Devanagari script

इति गायन्ति ये मत्ता: सीधुना शाकलाश्च ये

Transliteration

iti gāyanti ye mattāḥ sīdhunā śākalāś ca ye

Translation

Karna said: “Thus sing those who are intoxicated—those made drunk by sīdhu (fermented liquor), and those who are mere ‘shākalas’ (fragmentary, incoherent talkers).” In context, Karna dismisses a certain report or refrain as the irresponsible speech of the inebriated and the unreliable, implying that such words lack moral and evidentiary weight amid the grave ethical stakes of war.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; so (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• गायन्ति: they sing
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (गायति)
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 3rd, plural, Parasmaipada

• ये: who; those who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• मत्ताः: intoxicated; drunk
• मत्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्त (मत् + त)
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• सीधुना: with sidhu (liquor)
• सीधुना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सीधु
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• शाकलाः: the Śākalas (people of Śākala)
• शाकलाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाकल
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ये: who; those who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• sīdhu (fermented liquor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech that arises from intoxication or fragmented, irresponsible minds should not be treated as authoritative; in moral crises like war, discernment about sources and self-control in speech are essential.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking and deriding a certain claim or refrain as the kind of thing sung by drunkards and incoherent talkers, rejecting it as untrustworthy within the tense battlefield discourse of the Karna Parva.