Shloka 158

कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line

Devanagari script

वृजिनं हि भवेत्‌ किंचिद्‌ यदि कर्णस्य पार्थिव

Transliteration

vṛjinaṃ hi bhavet kiñcid yadi karṇasya pārthiva

Translation

王よ、もしカルナにわずかな不運、あるいは道義の汚点が降りかかるだけでも、それは痛ましく重大なこととなろう—それほどまでにカウラヴァの大義は彼に懸かり、ドゥルヨーダナは戦の最大の支えの行く末を案じているのだ。

Word by Word

• वृजिनम्: sin, evil, wrongdoing
• वृजिनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृजिन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• भवेत्: might be, would be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• किञ्चित्: anything, something (at all)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किञ्चित्

• यदि: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि

• कर्णस्य: of Karna
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Karṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the ethical and strategic danger of over-reliance on a single champion: when a cause is propped up by one person’s strength, the leader’s fear of that person’s misfortune becomes intense, revealing insecurity and the fragility of adharma-based confidence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana addresses the king (pārthiva) and expresses apprehension that even a small calamity affecting Karṇa would be disastrous, underscoring Karṇa’s central role for the Kauravas in the ongoing battle.