Shloka 6

Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra

Devanagari script

अथ कृमि: श्लेष्ममेदोमांसशोणितभोजन: । दारुणो दारुणस्पर्श: कर्णस्याभ्याशमागत:,इसी समय लार, मेदा, मांस और रक्तका आहार करनेवाला एक भयानक कीड़ा, जिसका स्पर्श (डंक मारना) बड़ा भयंकर था, कर्णके पास आया

Transliteration

atha kṛmiḥ śleṣma-medō-māṃsa-śoṇita-bhojanaḥ | dāruṇo dāruṇa-sparśaḥ karṇasyābhyāśam āgataḥ ||

Translation

अथ कृमिः श्लेष्ममेदोमांसशोणितभोजनः । दारुणो दारुणस्पर्शः कर्णस्याभ्याशमागत् ॥

Word by Word

अथthen/now

कृमिःa worm

श्लेष्मphlegm

मेदःfat

मांसflesh

शोणितblood

भोजनःeating/feeding on

दारुणःterrible/fierce

दारुणस्पर्शःhaving a dreadful touch/sting

कर्णस्यof Karna

अभ्याशम्nearby/into the vicinity

आगतःcame/arrived

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Karṇa

kṛmi (worm)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores karmic causality: painful experiences can manifest as the ripening of past actions, reminding that power and status do not exempt one from ethical consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada narrates that a dreadful worm, feeding on bodily substances, approaches Karṇa; its painful touch signals an impending affliction that functions as a narrative marker of suffering tied to prior causes.