Shloka 162
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
यथा हास्य भुजीौ पीनौ नागराजकरोपमौ
yathā hāsya bhujau pīnau nāgarāja-karopamau, rājendra! gajarāja-ke śuṇḍa-daṇḍa-ke samāna; jaisī isakī moṭī bhujāeṁ haiṁ tathā samasta śatruoṁ kā saṁhāra karane meṁ samartha jaisā isakā viśāla vakṣaḥsthala hai, usase sūcita hotā hai ki paraśurāma-jī kā yaha pratāpī śiṣya mahāmanasvī dharmātmā vaikartana karṇa koī prākṛta puruṣa nahīṁ hai.
Duryodhana berkata: “Sebagaimana lengannya tebal dan gagah, laksana lengan raja ular, dan laksana tongkat-belalai gajah raja; dan sebagaimana dadanya yang bidang tampak mampu membinasakan segala musuh—tanda-tanda ini menunjukkan bahawa Karṇa Vaikartana, murid Perashurama yang perkasa, berhati besar dan berpegang pada dharma, bukanlah manusia biasa.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
External signs of strength and discipline are used to infer inner excellence: Duryodhana reads Karna’s bodily marks as evidence of extraordinary training and destiny, framing him as a dharmic, formidable ally—while also hinting at how power and loyalty can be ethically complex in war.
In the Karna Parva battle context, Duryodhana extols Karna’s exceptional might—comparing his arms to a serpent-king’s forearms and an elephant-king’s trunk—and concludes that Parashurama’s disciple Karna is no ordinary warrior, thereby bolstering confidence in their side.