Shloka 45
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
आरट्टा नाम ते देशा वाहीकं॑ नाम तज्जलम् | ब्राह्मणापसदा यत्र तुल्यकाला: प्रजापते:
āraṭṭā nāma te deśā vāhīkaṃ nāma taj jalam | brāhmaṇāpasadā yatra tulyakālāḥ prajāpateḥ ||
Karna disse: “Aquelas terras são chamadas Āraṭṭa, e a água ali é conhecida como Vāhīka. Nessa região vivem brâmanes degradados—homens que agem contra o Veda—dos quais se diz serem tão antigos quanto a própria era de Prajāpati.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a dharmic critique framed through Vedic norms: merely bearing a revered social identity (Brahmin) is not sufficient—conduct aligned with the Veda is treated as the true measure; deviation is condemned as moral and social ‘fallenness’ (apasada).
Karna is speaking polemically, identifying a region (Āraṭṭa) and its water (Vāhīka) while disparaging the inhabitants as ‘degraded Brahmins’ with Veda-opposed behavior, using antiquity (linked to Prajāpati’s age) to intensify the denunciation.