Shloka 26
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
उड्डीनमवडीनं च प्रडीनं डीनमेव च । निडीनमथ संडीनं तिर्यक् डीनगतानि च
uḍḍīnam avaḍīnaṃ ca praḍīnaṃ dīnam eva ca | niḍīnam atha saṃḍīnaṃ tiryak dīna-gatāni ca
वर उडणे, खाली उतरणे, पुढे झेपावणे आणि पडून राहणे; मग घरट्यात जाऊन बसणे, थव्याने एकत्र होणे, आणि तिरक्या मार्गाने चालणे—या सर्व ‘दीन’च्या (पतनशीलाच्या)च गती आहेत.
काक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a catalog of movements and states—rising, descending, wandering, nesting, clustering—to suggest that external motion or circumstance is variable and morally neutral; ethical value depends on inner steadiness and dharmic conduct rather than mere worldly position.
The crow (Kāka) speaks in a didactic tone, listing different ‘courses’ or conditions observed among creatures, as part of a larger moral reflection meant to guide judgment and behavior amid changing fortunes.