Shloka 47
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
प्रस्थला मद्रगान्धारा आरट्टा नामत: खशा: । वसातिसिन्धुसौवीरा इति प्रायोडतिकुत्सिता:,प्रस्थल, मद्र, गान्धार, आरट्ट, खस, वसाति, सिंधु तथा सौवीर--ये देश प्रायः अत्यन्त निन्दित हैं
prasthalā madragāndhārā āraṭṭā nāmataḥ khaśāḥ | vasātisindhusauvīrā iti prāyo ’tidatikutsitāḥ ||
Karna said: “Prasthala, Madra, Gandhāra, Āraṭṭa, and the Khaśas by name; likewise Vāsāti, Sindhu, and Sauvīra—these regions are, for the most part, spoken of as exceedingly contemptible.” In context, the speech functions as a harsh, prejudicial denunciation of certain frontier peoples and lands, reflecting the polemical rhetoric of war rather than an impartial ethical judgment.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how, in the heat of conflict, a warrior’s speech can slip into sweeping condemnation of peoples and regions. Ethically, it serves as a cautionary example of prejudice and dehumanizing rhetoric—common in polemical contexts—rather than a dharmic ideal to emulate.
Karna is speaking and lists several northwestern/frontier regions and peoples, branding them as generally ‘highly contemptible.’ The line functions as an invective catalogue, intensifying hostility and asserting cultural hierarchy within the war-time discourse.