Shloka 26
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
उड्डीनमवडीनं च प्रडीनं डीनमेव च । निडीनमथ संडीनं तिर्यक् डीनगतानि च
uḍḍīnam avaḍīnaṃ ca praḍīnaṃ dīnam eva ca | niḍīnam atha saṃḍīnaṃ tiryak dīna-gatāni ca
ਉੱਪਰ ਉੱਡਣਾ, ਹੇਠਾਂ ਉਤਰਨਾ, ਅੱਗੇ ਵਧ ਕੇ ਉੱਡਣਾ, ਅਤੇ ਡਿੱਗ ਕੇ ਪਿਆ ਰਹਿਣਾ; ਫਿਰ ਘੋਂਸਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਜਾ ਬੈਠਣਾ, ਝੁੰਡ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋਣਾ, ਅਤੇ ਤਿਰਛੇ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਚੱਲਣਾ—ਇਹ ਸਭ ‘ਦੀਨ’ (ਪਤਿਤ) ਦੀਆਂ ਹੀ ਗਤੀਆਂ ਹਨ।
काक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a catalog of movements and states—rising, descending, wandering, nesting, clustering—to suggest that external motion or circumstance is variable and morally neutral; ethical value depends on inner steadiness and dharmic conduct rather than mere worldly position.
The crow (Kāka) speaks in a didactic tone, listing different ‘courses’ or conditions observed among creatures, as part of a larger moral reflection meant to guide judgment and behavior amid changing fortunes.