Shloka 23
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
क्षत्रियस्य मल भैक्ष्यं ब्राह्मणस्याश्रुतं मलम् मलं॑ पृथिव्यां वाहीका: स्त्रीणां मद्रस्त्रियो मलम्,'क्षत्रियका मल है भिक्षावृत्ति, ब्राह्मणका मल है वेद-शास्त्रोंके विपरीत आचरण, पृथ्वीके मल हैं बाहीक और स्त्रियोंके मल हैं मद्रदेशकी स्त्रियाँ"
kṣatriyasya malaṃ bhaikṣyaṃ brāhmaṇasyāśrutaṃ malam | malaṃ pṛthivyāṃ vāhīkāḥ strīṇāṃ madrastriyo malam ||
Karna berkata: “Bagi seorang kṣatriya, kehinaan (mala) ialah hidup dengan meminta sedekah. Bagi seorang brāhmaṇa, kehinaan ialah tingkah laku yang menyanggahi ajaran yang didengar daripada Veda dan śāstra. Kehinaan di atas bumi ialah kaum Vāhīka, dan kehinaan dalam kalangan wanita ialah wanita Madra.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that each social role has a defining dharma, and the deepest ‘stain’ is what most contradicts that role: a kshatriya abandoning self-reliant warrior duty for alms, and a brahmin acting against śruti-based discipline. However, the latter half shifts from ethical principle to wartime invective, showing how moral language can be used as a weapon to shame groups and opponents.
In the Karna Parva’s battle context, Karna is speaking in a confrontational tone. He delivers a biting list of ‘disgraces’ to demean certain peoples and, by implication, those associated with them—reflecting the escalating hostility and rhetorical aggression typical of the war books.