Shloka 21
कर्ण उवाच वर्मणा कुण्डलाभ्यां च शक्ति मे देहि वासव । अमोधघां शत्रुसंघानां घातिनीं पृतनामुखे
karṇa uvāca varmaṇā kuṇḍalābhyāṃ ca śakti me dehi vāsava | amodhaghāṃ śatrusaṅghānāṃ ghātinīṃ pṛtanāmukhe ||
Karna said: “O Vāsava (Indra), in exchange for my armor and my earrings, grant me your spear—unfailing, and a slayer of masses of enemies at the very front of battle.” In this request, Karna knowingly parts with his innate protections to obtain a single decisive weapon, revealing both the ethics of bargaining with the divine and the war-driven resolve to secure victory through a guaranteed means of destruction.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between generosity and self-preservation: Karna is willing to surrender his natural protections to obtain an unfailing weapon. It underscores how choices made under the pressure of rivalry and war can convert virtues (like giving) into instruments for violence, and how boons from higher powers often come with ethical complexity.
Karna addresses Vāsava (Indra) and asks for Indra’s spear in exchange for his own armor and earrings. He specifies that the spear should be unfailing and capable of killing enemy hosts at the battlefront, indicating his intent to secure a decisive advantage for the coming conflict.