Shloka 46
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
निपतेयं क्व नु श्रान्त इति तस्मिज्जलार्णवे
nipateyaṁ kva nu śrānta iti tasmiñ jalārṇave
“Jika aku keletihan, di manakah harus aku hinggap dalam lautan ini?” Maka, di hamparan air yang luas itu, gagak pun mula resah: “Laut, tempat tinggal makhluk air yang tidak terbilang, tidak menyediakan perlindungan bagiku. Samudera agung ini, yang dipenuhi makhluk-makhluk perkasa tanpa kira, tampak lebih luas daripada langit.”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights practical discernment: one should not enter an undertaking whose scale exceeds one’s capacity and offers no secure support. Anxiety arises when a being overreaches into an environment where it has no refuge.
In a dialogue attributed to the swan (Haṃsa), the crow reflects on the danger of the ocean: if it becomes tired mid-flight, there is nowhere to land, and the sea is filled with powerful aquatic beings. The scene uses the ocean as an image of an overwhelming domain lacking safety for the unfit.