Shloka 56
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
ऋतमेव हि पूर्वास्ते वदन्ति पुरुषोत्तमा: | तस्मादार्तायनि: प्रोक्तो भवानिति मतिर्मम,“आपके पूर्वज श्रेष्ठ पुछष थे और सदा सत्य ही बोला करते थे, इसीलिये आप 'आर्तायनि” कहलाते हैं; मेरी ऐसी ही धारणा है
ṛtam eva hi pūrvās te vadanti puruṣottamāḥ | tasmād ārtāyaniḥ prokto bhavān iti matir mama ||
Sañjaya disse: “De fato, teus antepassados — homens do mais alto mérito — sempre falaram apenas a verdade. Por isso entendo que sejas chamado ‘Ārtāyani’, pois permaneces nessa linhagem de veracidade.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds ṛta (truth/right order) as an inherited ethical ideal: noble lineage is marked not merely by birth but by steadfast truthfulness, which becomes a basis for honorific recognition.
Sanjaya addresses a respected person and explains an epithet—‘Ārtāyani’—by appealing to the reputation of that person’s forefathers as unwavering speakers of truth, thereby framing the addressee within a moral lineage.