Shloka 24
Aśvatthāman’s Admonition to Karṇa on Boasting, Varṇa-Duties, and the Threat of Arjuna
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 45
त्वामेवायं रथो वोदढुं संग्रामे<हति धन्विनम् । त्वं चेमं रथमास्थाय योद्धुमहों मतो मम,यह रथ आप-जैसे धनुर्धर वीरको ही वहन करने योग्य है और मेरी रायमें आप इसी रथपर बैठकर युद्ध करने योग्य हैं
tvām evāyaṁ ratho voḍhuṁ saṅgrāme ’hati dhanvinam | tvaṁ cemam ratham āsthāya yoddhum ahoṁ mato mama ||
Uttara berkata: “Kereta perang ini layak menanggung tuan seorang sahaja di medan laga, wahai pemanah tiada bandingan. Dan pada hematku, tuanlah yang patut menaiki kereta ini lalu bertempur.”
उत्तर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes fitness and rightful role in action: in a crisis like battle, responsibility should be entrusted to the truly capable. It reflects a dharmic instinct to align duty with competence rather than mere status.
Prince Uttara addresses his companion (the disguised Arjuna as Bṛhannalā), praising him as the only archer worthy of the chariot and urging him to mount it and fight—setting up the reversal where the seemingly unfit companion is revealed as the true warrior.