Shloka 25
Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra
अतिदुःखमिदं मूढ न जातु ब्राह्मण: सहेत् क्षत्रियस्थेव ते धैर्य कामया सत्यमुच्यताम्
atidukham idaṁ mūḍha na jātu brāhmaṇaḥ sahet | kṣatriyasyeva te dhairyaṁ kāmayā satyam ucyatām ||
“ਹੇ ਮੂਰਖ! ਇਹ ਦੁੱਖ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਭਾਰੀ ਹੈ; ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਕਦੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਹਿ ਸਕਦਾ। ਤੇਰਾ ਧੀਰਜ ਤਾਂ ਖੱਤਰੀ ਵਰਗਾ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਰਜ਼ੀ ਨਾਲ ਸੱਚ ਦੱਸ—ਤੂੰ ਕੌਣ ਹੈਂ?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores satya (truthfulness) as an ethical imperative: extraordinary endurance suggests a hidden identity, and Nārada urges voluntary confession of truth rather than concealment.
Nārada observes someone bearing immense suffering with unusual fortitude; judging that such endurance is more typical of a kṣatriya than a brāhmaṇa, he challenges the person and asks them to reveal their true identity.