Shloka 8
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
भवन्त्येककुले विप्रा: प्रसृष्टा: कामचारिण: । गान्धारा मद्रकाश्नैव वाहीकाक्षाल्पचेतस:,“वहाँ एक ही कुलमें कुछ लोग ब्राह्मण और कुछ लोग स्वेच्छाचारी वर्णसंकर संतान उत्पन्न करनेवाले होते हैं। गान्धार, मद्र और बाहीक--इन सभी देशोंके लोग मन्दबुद्धि हुआ करते हैं
bhavanty ekakule viprāḥ prasṛṣṭāḥ kāmacāriṇaḥ | gāndhārā madrakāś caiva vāhīkāś cālpacetasāḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Dalam satu keturunan yang sama boleh muncul para brāhmaṇa, dan juga yang lain—tidak terkawal, menurut hawa nafsu—yang memperanakkan zuriat bercampur varṇa. Orang Gandhāra, Madra, dan Vāhīka juga kurang pertimbangan.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how polemical speech in the epic links moral restraint (self-control) with social order (lineage and conduct), using sweeping generalizations to condemn perceived lack of discipline and discernment; ethically, it serves as an example of harsh, prejudicial rhetoric rather than a universal moral rule.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle context, Karna speaks in a derisive tone, asserting that within a single family different social types may arise and then disparaging certain regions—Gandhāra, Madra, and Vāhīka—as lacking good judgment, as part of verbal aggression and psychological warfare.