Shloka 53
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
Devanagari script
यथा चाल्पश्रुतो मूढो धर्माणामविभागवित्
Transliteration
yathā cālpaśruto mūḍho dharmāṇām avibhāgavit
Translation
ਜਿਵੇਂ ਥੋੜ੍ਹਾ ਸੁਣਿਆ-ਪੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਮੂਰਖ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਧਰਮਾਂ ਦੇ ਭੇਦ-ਵਿਭਾਗ ਨੂੰ ਠੀਕ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦਾ,
Word by Word
यथाas, just as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
अल्पश्रुतःone who has heard/learned little; poorly learned
अल्पश्रुतः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअल्पश्रुत
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
मूढःdeluded, foolish
मूढः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमूढ
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
धर्माणाम्of duties/laws/virtues
धर्माणाम्:
TypeNoun
Rootधर्म
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
अविभागवित्knowing no distinctions (i.e., not discerning divisions)
अविभागवित्:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअविभागविद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
वायुदेव उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VāyudevaDharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Dharma requires viveka (discriminative understanding). Mere partial learning leads to confusion, and without grasping the distinctions among duties and contexts, one misjudges what is righteous.
Vāyudeva begins an instructive comparison: he points to the example of an ignorant, poorly educated person who cannot distinguish among dharmas, setting up a broader admonition about mistaken moral reasoning.