Shloka 61
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
शतमेकं च पातानां पताम्यहमनुस्मर । श्लाघमानस्त्वमात्मानं काक भाषितवानसि,“काग! तूने अपनी प्रशंसा करते हुए कहा था कि मैं एक सौ एक उड़ानोंद्वारा उड़ सकता हूँ। अब उन्हें याद कर
śatam ekaṃ ca pātānāṃ patāmy aham anusmara | ślāghamānas tvam ātmānaṃ kāka bhāṣitavān asi ||
Śalya disse: “Ó corvo, lembra-te agora: ‘Posso voar cento e uma vezes.’ Foste tu quem o disse, vangloriando-te de ti mesmo.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques self-praise and inflated claims: boasting may sound impressive, but it becomes a liability when circumstances demand proof. Ethical speech in the Mahābhārata is measured, truthful, and restrained; prideful talk invites downfall and ridicule.
Śalya delivers a cutting remark framed as a recollection of a crow’s earlier boast—“I can fly a hundred and one flights.” By ordering the crow to ‘remember,’ he turns the boast into a taunt, using irony to undermine arrogance in the tense atmosphere of the war narrative.