Shloka 27
Sabhā Parva, Adhyāya 68 — Pāṇḍavānāṃ Vanavāsa-prasthānaḥ; Duḥśāsana-nindā; Pāṇḍava-pratijñāḥ
उस कोलाहलके शान्त होनेपर राधानन्दन कर्ण क्रोधसे मूर्च्छिंत हो उसकी सुन्दर बाँह पकड़कर इस प्रकार बोला ।।
karṇa uvāca | dṛśyante vai vikarṇeha vaikṛtāni bahūny api | tajjātas tadvināśāya yathāgnir araṇiprajaḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Wahai Vikarna, di dunia ini banyak perkara yang terlihat menghasilkan akibat yang songsang dan memudaratkan. Seperti api yang lahir daripada kayu araṇi lalu membakar kayu itu sendiri, demikian juga ada manusia yang lahir dalam sesuatu keluarga tetapi akhirnya menjadi sebab kebinasaan keluarga itu.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Karna uses a moral analogy: causes can generate their own destroyers. One should recognize that a person born within a lineage may act against its welfare, just as fire produced from araṇi-sticks consumes the very sticks that produced it.
After the commotion subsides, Karna—angered—addresses Vikarna and rebukes him through a pointed metaphor, implying that someone within a family can become the agent of that family’s downfall.