Shloka 403
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
आरट्टा नाम वाहीका न तेष्वार्योद्व्यहं वसेत् । जहाँ पर्वतसे निकलकर ये पूर्वोक्त पाँचों नदियाँ बहती हैं, वे आरट्ट नामसे प्रसिद्ध बाहीक प्रदेश हैं। उनमें श्रेष्ठ पुरुष दो दिन भी निवास न करे
Āraṭṭā nāma Vāhīkā na teṣv āryo dvyahaṃ vaset.
ਵਾਹੀਕ ‘ਆਰੱਟ’ ਨਾਮ ਨਾਲ ਜਾਣੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ; ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਦੇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੋਈ ਆਰਯ ਪੁਰਖ ਦੋ ਦਿਨ ਵੀ ਨਾ ਵੱਸੇ।
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ‘ārya’ identity as grounded in conduct and cultural discipline, warning that association with a censured milieu can erode ethical refinement; it also shows how moral language can be used to stigmatize communities.
Karna is speaking in a polemical tone, characterizing the Vāhīka/Āraṭṭa region as socially and morally undesirable, and asserting that a noble person should avoid residing there even briefly.