Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ज्ञात्वैतच्छझना वज्ी रक्षार्थ सव्यसाचिन: । कुण्डले कवचं चैव कर्णस्यापहरिष्यति,इस बातको समझकर वज्धारी इन्द्र अर्जुनकी रक्षाके लिये छल करके कर्णके कुण्डल और कवचका अपहरण कर लेंगे

Transliteration

jñātvaitac chalanā vajrī rakṣārthaṃ savyasācinaḥ | kuṇḍale kavacaṃ caiva karṇasyāpahariṣyati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Understanding this stratagem, Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, will—seeking to protect Arjuna—resort to deception and take away Karṇa’s earrings and his natural armor. The verse frames a morally charged act: divine intervention, motivated by partiality and protection, employs trickery to diminish a formidable warrior’s invulnerability before the coming conflict.

Word by Word

• ज्ञात्वा: having known/understood
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• एतत्: this (fact)
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• छलना: by deceit/trickery
• छलना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: छलना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• वज्री: the wielder of the thunderbolt (Indra)
• वज्री: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रक्षार्थम्: for the sake of protection
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षा + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सव्यसाचिनः: of Savyasācin (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• कुण्डले: the two earrings
• कुण्डले: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Dual

• कवचम्: armor
• कवचम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• कर्णस्य: of Karṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अपहरिष्यति: will take away/steal
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-हृ (धातु)
• Form: Simple Future (लृट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Indra
• Arjuna (Savyasācin)
• Karṇa
• Vajra (thunderbolt)
• Kuṇḍala (earrings)
• Kavaca (armor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a tension within dharma: even a protective motive (saving Arjuna) can lead to ethically questionable means (deception and dispossession). It invites reflection on whether ends justify means, especially when power—here divine power—acts with partiality in human conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana foretells that Indra, to safeguard his son Arjuna, will use a ruse to obtain Karṇa’s divine earrings and inborn armor—items that make Karṇa nearly invulnerable—thereby reducing Karṇa’s advantage ahead of the great war.