Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अजुन उवाच वाचस्तीक्ष्णास्थिभेदिन्य: सूतपुत्रेण भाषिता: । अतितीव्रा मया क्षान्तास्तेन प्राप्ता: सम संशयम्‌,अर्जुन बोले--सूतपुत्र कर्णके कहे हुए कठोर अस्थियोंको भी विदीर्ण कर देनेवाले अत्यन्त कड़वे वचन सुनकर भी जो हमने सहन कर लिये; उसीसे आज हम धर्मसंकटकी अवस्थामें आ पहुँचे हैं

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca vācas tīkṣṇāsthi-bhedinyaḥ sūta-putreṇa bhāṣitāḥ | atitīvrā mayā kṣāntās tena prāptāḥ sama-saṁśayam ||

Translation

Arjuna disse: “As palavras ditas pelo filho do Sūta, Karṇa, foram cortantes—tão amargas que pareciam fender até os ossos. Ainda assim, eu suportei aquelas ofensas de extrema dureza. Foi precisamente por tê-las tolerado que agora caímos num grave dilema do dharma, incertos quanto ao rumo correto.”

Word by Word

अर्जुनःArjuna

उवाचsaid/spoke

वाचःwords/speech

तीक्ष्णाःsharp/harsh

अस्थिभेदिन्यःbone-splitting (piercing to the bone)

सूतपुत्रेणby the charioteer’s son (Karna)

भाषिताःspoken/uttered

अतितीव्राःexceedingly bitter/very intense

मयाby me

क्षान्ताःendured/borne

तेनby that/therefore

प्राप्ताःhave reached/come to

सम्completely/indeed (intensifier)

संशयम्doubt/perplexity

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Karna (Sūtaputra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical cost of misplaced forbearance: enduring grievous adharma (public humiliation and injustice) can itself become a cause of later moral confusion, because tolerance without timely, principled response may entangle one in doubt about duty and justice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna reflects on earlier insults delivered by Karṇa (called ‘Sūtaputra’). He says he endured those cutting words, but that very endurance has led the Pāṇḍavas into a difficult situation where the right course of action is uncertain—an expression of their present dharma-crisis.