Shloka 36
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
कथमेकेन पातेन हंस: पातशतं जयेत् । एकेनैव शतस्यैष पातेनाभिभविष्यति
katham ekena pātena haṁsaḥ pātaśataṁ jayet | ekenaiva śatasya eṣa pātenābhibhaviṣyati ||
“Como poderia um cisne, com um só voo, vencer cem voos? Antes, por esse único voo, será subjugado pelos cem.”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
A single effort or advantage is often insufficient against a sustained, collective force; wise action requires realistic assessment of relative strength and the cumulative power of many.
A speaker identified as ‘the Swan’ offers a pointed rhetorical argument: one stroke cannot defeat a hundred; instead, the lone actor is likely to be overwhelmed—serving as counsel about strategy and caution in the surrounding war-time discourse.