Shloka 11

Devanagari script

सती पुरा हृता काचिदारट्टात्‌ किल दस्युभि: । अधर्मतश्नोपयाता सा तानभ्यशपत्‌ ततः,“कहते हैं, प्राचीन कालमें लुटेरे डाकुओंने आरट्ट देशसे किसी सती स्त्रीका अपहरण कर लिया और अधर्मपूर्वक उसके साथ समागम किया। तब उसने उन्हें यह शाप दे दिया --

Transliteration

satī purā hṛtā kācid āraṭṭāt kila dasyubhiḥ | adharmataś copayātā sā tān abhyśapat tataḥ |

Translation

എന്ന് പറയുന്നു—പുരാതനകാലത്ത് ആരട്ടദേശത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു സതീസ്ത്രീയെ ദസ്യുക്കൾ അപഹരിച്ചു. അധർമ്മബലത്തോടെ അവളെ അപമാനിച്ച് ഭോഗിച്ചതിന് ശേഷം അവൾ അവരെ ശപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

सतीa virtuous woman

पुराformerly, once

हृताwas abducted/taken away

काचित्some (woman)

आरट्टात्from (the land of) Aratta

किलindeed, it is said

दस्युभिःby robbers/bandits

अधर्मतःunrighteously, unlawfully

अनुपयाताhaving been approached/subjected to (sexually)

साshe

तान्them

अभ्यशपत्cursed

ततःthen, thereafter

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

a satī (unnamed chaste woman)

dasyu (bandits/robbers)

Āraṭṭa (region)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames sexual violence and abduction as adharma and introduces the moral logic that grievous wrongdoing invites a corresponding consequence—here, a curse—underscoring accountability beyond immediate power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna begins an illustrative tale: bandits abduct a chaste woman from Āraṭṭa and violate her; in response, she utters a curse against them, setting up the outcome that will follow in subsequent verses.