Shloka 80
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
कियत् तत् तत् प्रवक्ष्यामि येन येन धनंजय: । त्वत्तो5तिरिक्तः सर्वेभ्यो भूतेभ्यो ब्राह्मणो यथा
kiyat tat tat pravakṣyāmi yena yena dhanañjayaḥ | tvatto 'tiriktaḥ sarvebhyo bhūtebhyo brāhmaṇo yathā ||
Sejauh manakah harus aku terus menghitung dan menyebutkan sifat-sifat yang menjadikan Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) mengatasi engkau? Sebagaimana seorang brāhmaṇa dipandang paling utama antara makhluk hidup, demikianlah Arjuna lebih tinggi daripada engkau. Ucapan ini bertujuan merendahkan keangkuhan dan menegaskan hierarki yang bersandar pada keunggulan yang diakui, bukan pada dakwaan diri di medan perang.
काक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against pride by asserting that true superiority rests on recognized qualities and merit; it frames excellence as something demonstrable and acknowledged, using a social-religious analogy (brāhmaṇa as foremost) to emphasize Arjuna’s preeminence.
Kāka speaks in a comparative, admonitory tone, saying he cannot finish listing the reasons Arjuna surpasses the addressed person; he reinforces the point with an analogy that, as a brāhmaṇa is considered foremost among beings, so Arjuna stands above the other in question.