Shloka 16

Jayadratha Approaches Draupadī in the Forest

Hospitality, Persuasion, and Reproach

Devanagari script

सद्यो वशं समापन्नः शत्रूणां शत्रुकर्शन | कर्ण बोला--राजन्‌! आज तुम जो यहाँ इतनी लघुताका अनुभव कर रहे हो

Transliteration

sadyo vaśaṃ samāpannaḥ śatrūṇāṃ śatrukarśana | karṇa uvāca—rājan! adya tvaṃ yatraivaṃ laghutāṃ anubhavasi, asyāḥ kāraṇaṃ mama buddhyā na pratibhāti. śatrunāśaka vīra! yadi ekavāraṃ śatrūṇāṃ vaśaṃ gatam api tvāṃ pāṇḍavaiḥ mocitaṃ, tatra kim adbhutaṃ jātaṃ?

Translation

Карна сказал: «О царь, я не понимаю, отчего ты здесь и сейчас испытываешь такое унижение. О герой, сокрушающий врагов! Если однажды ты попал во власть неприятелей, а Пандавы тебя вызволили, что же в этом удивительного?»

Word by Word

• सद्यः: immediately, at once
• सद्यः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यस्
• Form: Avyaya (indeclinable adverb)

• वशम्: control, power, subjection
• वशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• समापन्नः: having fallen into, having come under
• समापन्नः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आपद्
• Form: Past active participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शत्रूणाम्: of enemies
• शत्रूणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शत्रुकर्शन: O enemy-crusher
• शत्रुकर्शन: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु-कर्शन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• King (addressed as rājan)
• Pandavas
• Enemies (śatravaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karna reframes humiliation as misplaced: being rescued after falling into enemy control is not inherently shameful or extraordinary. The verse highlights a warrior-code emphasis on composure and realistic appraisal of fortune in conflict, rather than self-debasement or exaggerated awe at an opponent’s act.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna addresses a king who feels slighted or humiliated. He argues that if the Pandavas once freed the king from enemy captivity, it is not a miracle—implying the king should not overreact emotionally or politically to that incident.