Shloka 14

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०

Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

मांसौदनं दधि क्षीरं पायसं मधुसर्पिषी । वैश्यके बालक उस कौएको सदा मांस, भात, दही, दूध, खीर, मधु और घी आदि दिया करते थे ।। १३ ह || सचोच्छिष्टभूत: काको वैश्यपुत्रै: कुमारकै:

Transliteration

māṃsaudanaṃ dadhi kṣīraṃ pāyasaṃ madhusarpiṣī | satocchiṣṭabhūtaḥ kāko vaiśyaputraiḥ kumārakaiḥ ||

Translation

சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—வைசியப் புதல்வர்களான அந்த இளைஞர்கள் அந்தக் காக்கைக்கு எப்போதும் மாம்சம், சோறு, தயிர், பால், பாயசம், தேன், நெய் முதலியவற்றை ஊட்டினர்; ஆகவே அது அவர்களின் உச்சிஷ்டத்திலேயே வாழும் பழக்கமுற்றது.

Word by Word

मांसौदनम्meat-rice (rice with meat)

दधिcurd/yogurt

क्षीरम्milk

पायसम्rice-pudding (kheer)

मधुhoney

सर्पिषीghee (clarified butter) (dual form used in listing)

सचोच्छिष्टभूतःhaving become (one) with leftovers; living on remnants

काकःthe crow

वैश्यपुत्रैःby the sons of a vaiśya (merchant)

कुमारकैःby the boys/young lads

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

crow (kāka)

vaiśya boys (vaiśyaputrāḥ kumārakāḥ)

food offerings: meat, rice, curd, milk, pāyasa, honey, ghee

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 uses a simple image—boys repeatedly feeding a crow rich foods—to suggest how repeated indulgence and dependence on easy gains can shape behavior and weaken restraint, a moral lens often applied to human choices in the epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a crow that is regularly fed by young vaiśya boys with various rich foods (meat, rice, dairy, sweets, honey, ghee), portraying the bird as living on their continual leavings.