Mahabharata 1.201.11 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 11

Sundopasundayoḥ Tapas–Varadāna–Prasaṅgaḥ

Sunda and Upasunda: Austerities and the Boon

Devanagari script

इदं त्वद्य क्षमं कर्तुमस्माकं पुरुषर्षभ । यावन्न कृतमूलास्ते पाण्डवेया विशाम्पते

Transliteration

idaṃ tv adya kṣamaṃ kartum asmākaṃ puruṣarṣabha | yāvan na kṛtamūlāste pāṇḍaveyā viśāmpate ||

Translation

Karna berkata: “Wahai lembu jantan di antara manusia, inilah satu-satunya jalan yang wajar untuk kita tempuh pada hari ini. Wahai tuan rakyat jelata, selagi putera-putera Pāṇḍu belum lagi berakar kukuh, kita mesti memukul mereka sekarang. Hanya dengan cara itulah mereka dapat ditundukkan dan dikawal.”

Word by Word

• इदम्: this (course/thing)
• इदम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य

• क्षमम्: proper/possible/fit
• क्षमम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षम
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• कर्तुम्: to do
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Infinitive (tumun)

• अस्माकम्: of us/for us
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Plural

• पुरुषर्षभ: O bull among men
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष-ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यावत्: as long as/until
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत्

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• कृतमूलाः: having established roots/firmly settled
• कृतमूलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत-मूल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पाण्डवेयाः: the sons/descendants of Pandu (Pandavas)
• पाण्डवेयाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डवेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्-पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a realpolitik mindset: strike an opponent before they become established and powerful. Ethically, it illustrates the tension between expedient power-politics and dharmic restraint, since urging a pre-emptive attack on vulnerable rivals tends toward adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna addresses a king (the ‘lord of the people’) and urges immediate action against the Pāṇḍavas, arguing that they have not yet become firmly entrenched and can therefore be subdued if attacked now.