Shloka 30
उत्कृत्य तु प्रदास्यामि कुण्डले कवचं च ते । निकृत्तेषु तु गात्रेषु न मे बीभत्सता भवेत्,मैं आपको अपने शरीरसे उधेड़कर कवच और कुण्डल तो दे दूँगा; परंतु उस समय मेरे अंगोंके कट जानेपर मेरा स्वरूप बीभत्स न होना चाहिये
utkṛtya tu pradāsyāmi kuṇḍale kavacaṃ ca te | nikṛtteṣu tu gātreṣu na me bībhatsatā bhavet |
Karna said: “I will tear them from my own body and give you my earrings and armor. Yet when my limbs are cut away in the act, let my form not become hideous.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethic of dāna (gift-giving) carried to an extreme: Karna is willing to surrender even life-protecting possessions to uphold his reputation for generosity and honor, while also expressing concern for dignity—asking that the act not leave him in a grotesque state.
Karna, approached by a petitioner seeking his natural armor and earrings, declares he will physically remove them from his body and give them. He adds a condition or wish: that even if his limbs are cut in the process, his appearance should not become repulsive—underscoring both the brutality of the request and his insistence on maintaining personal dignity.