Shloka 16
अर्जुन-कर्ण-सङ्ग्रामः
Arjuna–Karna Engagement in the Cattle-Raid Aftermath
आत्मानं क: समुद्धद्ध्य कण्ठे बद्ध्वा महाशिलाम् | समुद्र तरते दोर्भ्या तत्र कि नाम पौरुषम्
ātmānaṃ kaḥ samuddhṛtya kaṇṭhe baddhvā mahāśilām | samudraṃ tarate dorbhyāṃ tatra kiṃ nāma pauruṣam ||
Крипа сказал: «Кто способен спасти себя и переплыть океан, работая руками, если сам привязал к своей шее огромный тяжёлый камень? Какое тут “мужество”? Это не отвага — это глупость».
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
True valor is not self-destructive bravado. Deliberately taking on a crippling burden and then calling the resulting struggle ‘heroism’ is condemned as foolishness; wise action aligns effort with attainable, dharmic ends.
Kṛpa is offering counsel by using a vivid metaphor: trying to cross an ocean while a heavy stone is tied to one’s neck. He argues that such an act cannot be praised as pauruṣa (heroic effort) because it is knowingly self-sabotaging.