Shloka 27

Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)

Devanagari script

दुर्वासःक्रो धजे वह्नौ पतिता: पाण्डुनन्दना: | स्वैरेव ते महापापैर्गता वै दुस्तरं तम:

Transliteration

Durvāsāḥ krodhaje vahnau patitāḥ pāṇḍunandanāḥ | svair eva te mahāpāpair gatā vai dustaraṃ tamaḥ ||

Translation

कर्ण म्हणाला— “दुर्वासांच्या क्रोधातून उत्पन्न झालेल्या अग्नीत पांडुनंदन पडले आहेत. ते महापापी आपल्या स्वेच्छेनेच, आपल्या दुष्कर्मांमुळेच, दुस्तर अशा तमात गेले आहेत.”

Word by Word

दुर्वासःDurvasa (the sage)

क्रोधेin anger

वह्नौin the fire

पतिताःfallen

पाण्डुनन्दनाःsons of Pandu (the Pandavas)

स्वैःby their own

एवindeed/just

तेthey

महापापैःby great sins

गताःgone/attained

वैindeed

दुस्तरम्hard to cross

तमःdarkness

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Durvasa

Pandavas (sons of Pandu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames anger (krodha) as a destructive force and links moral wrongdoing (mahāpāpa) with a descent into “darkness” (tamaḥ), emphasizing that ethical lapses bring severe consequences that are difficult to escape.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking polemically about the Pāṇḍavas, claiming they have fallen into a calamity likened to a fire arising from Durvāsā’s wrath, and that their own choices and misdeeds have led them into near-inescapable ruin.