Shloka 61
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
एवमभ्यधिक: पार्थाद् भविष्यामि गुणैरहम् । शल्यो<प्यधिक: कृष्णादर्जुनादपि चाप्यहम्,ऐसी व्यवस्था होनेपर मैं गुणोंमें पार्थसे बढ़ जाऊँगा। शल्य भी श्रीकृष्णसे बड़े-चढ़े हैं और मैं भी अर्जुनसे श्रेष्ठ हूँ न हि मे समरे शक्ता: समुद्यातुं सुरसुरा: । किमु पाण्डुसुता राजन् रणे मानुषयोनय:
evam abhyadhikaḥ pārthād bhaviṣyāmi guṇair aham | śalyo 'py adhikaḥ kṛṣṇād arjunād api cāpy aham | na hi me samare śaktāḥ samudyātuṃ surāsurāḥ | kimu pāṇḍusutā rājan raṇe mānuṣayonayaḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Jika segala urusan diatur demikian, aku akan mengatasi Partha (Arjuna) dalam keunggulan sifat dan mutu. Bahkan Shalya lebih besar daripada Krishna, dan aku juga lebih unggul daripada Arjuna. Di medan perang, para dewa dan asura pun tidak berdaya bangkit menentangku—apatah lagi, wahai raja, putera-putera Pandu yang hanya lahir sebagai manusia?”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates the moral and psychological danger of overconfidence in war: Karna frames victory as a matter of personal superiority and dismisses even divine opposition. In the epic’s ethical landscape, such pride (mada/ahaṅkāra) often clouds judgment and deepens adharma by reducing opponents to objects of contempt rather than moral agents.
Karna, speaking to the king (Duryodhana), asserts that with the situation arranged in his favor he will outshine Arjuna. He elevates Shalya above Krishna and claims himself above Arjuna, declaring that not even gods and demons could face him—therefore the human-born Pandavas are, in his view, no match.