Shloka 8
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
'जो प्रदेश हिमालय, गंगा, सरस्वती, यमुना और कुरक्षेत्रकी सीमासे बाहर हैं तथा जो सतलज, व्यास, रावी, चिनाव और झेलम--इन पाँचों एवं छठी सिंधु नदीके बीचमें स्थित हैं, उन्हें बाहीक कहते हैं। वे धर्मबाह्म और अपवित्र हैं। उन्हें त्याग देना चाहिये ।।
yo pradeśaḥ himālaya-gaṅgā-sarasvatī-yamunā-kurukṣetra-sīmābhyaḥ bahiḥ santi tathā yaḥ śatadru-vipāśā-irāvatī-candrabhāgā-vitastā—etāsu pañcasu nadīṣu ṣaṣṭhyā sindhunā ca madhye sthitāḥ, te bāhīkāḥ ucyante | te dharmabāhyāḥ apavitrāś ca; tān tyaktavyān iti || govardhano nāma vaṭaḥ, subhadraṃ nāma catvaram | etad rāja-kula-dvāram ā-kumārāt smarāmy aham ||
Karna disse: “As regiões que ficam fora dos limites assinalados pelo Himalaia e pelos rios Gaṅgā, Sarasvatī, Yamunā e pelo campo sagrado de Kurukṣetra—e as terras situadas entre os cinco rios Śatadru (Sutlej), Vipāśā (Beas), Irāvatī (Ravi), Candrabhāgā (Chenab), Vitastā (Jhelum) e o sexto rio Sindhu (Indo)—são chamadas Bāhīka. Seus costumes estão fora do dharma e são tidos por impuros; por isso devem ser abandonados. E ainda me lembro, desde a infância, do portal real de lá: a figueira-de-bengala chamada Govardhana e a plataforma chamada Subhadrā que ficavam à sua entrada.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as tied to sacred geography and social-ritual norms, using the label “dharmabāhya/apavitra” to argue for avoidance of certain regions/peoples. Ethically, it illustrates how war-time speech can weaponize purity and regional identity to justify exclusion.
Karna is speaking and defines the “Bāhīka” territory by its location between the Punjab rivers and the Sindhu, outside the sacred heartland boundaries. He then recalls specific landmarks at a royal gateway—Govardhana the banyan and Subhadrā the platform—showing personal memory intertwined with his denunciation.