Shloka 8
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
भवन्त्येककुले विप्रा: प्रसृष्टा: कामचारिण: । गान्धारा मद्रकाश्नैव वाहीकाक्षाल्पचेतस:
bhavanty ekakule viprāḥ prasṛṣṭāḥ kāmacāriṇaḥ | gāndhārā madrakāś caiva vāhīkāś cālpacetasāḥ ||
भवन्त्येककुले विप्राः प्रसृष्टाः कामचारिणः। गान्धारा मद्रकाश्चैव वाहीकाश्चाल्पचेतसः॥
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how polemical speech in the epic links moral restraint (self-control) with social order (lineage and conduct), using sweeping generalizations to condemn perceived lack of discipline and discernment; ethically, it serves as an example of harsh, prejudicial rhetoric rather than a universal moral rule.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle context, Karna speaks in a derisive tone, asserting that within a single family different social types may arise and then disparaging certain regions—Gandhāra, Madra, and Vāhīka—as lacking good judgment, as part of verbal aggression and psychological warfare.