Shloka 29

कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः

Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge

Devanagari script

कृतघ्नता परवित्तापहारो मद्यपानं गुरुदारावमर्द: । वाक्पारुष्यं गोवधो रात्रिचर्या बहिर्गेहं परवस्त्रोपभोग:

Transliteration

kṛtaghnatā paravittāpahāro madyapānaṃ gurudārāvamardaḥ | vākpāruṣyaṃ govadho rātricaryā bahirgehaṃ paravastrōpabhogaḥ ||

Translation

கர்ணன் கூறினான்—நன்றிகேடு, பிறருடைய செல்வத்தை அபகரித்தல், மதுபானம், குருவின் மனைவியை அவமதித்தல்/தூஷித்தல், கடுமையான இழிவுச்சொல், கோவதை, அநியாய நோக்கங்களுக்காக இரவுச் சுற்றல், தன் இல்லத்துக்கு வெளியே தங்குதல், பிறருடைய ஆடைகளை அணிதல் அல்லது அனுபவித்தல்—இவை தர்ம ஒழுங்கில் வீழ்ச்சியின் குறிகள்; பழியையும் ஏற்படுத்தும் செயல்கள்।

Word by Word

कृतघ्नताingratitude

परवित्तापहारःstealing of another's wealth

मद्यपानम्drinking liquor

गुरुदारावमर्दःviolating (dishonoring) the wife of one's teacher/elder

वाक्पारुष्यम्harshness of speech

गोवधःkilling a cow

रात्रिचर्याroaming at night; nocturnal wandering

बहिर्गेहम्outside the house

परवस्त्रोपभोगःusing/enjoying another's clothes (property)

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

guru (teacher/preceptor)

guru’s wife

cow

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse lists behaviors condemned by dharma—ingratitude, theft, intoxication, sexual violation (especially involving the teacher’s wife), abusive speech, cow-killing, and other socially destructive acts—presenting them as markers of ethical degradation and sources of blame.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking in a didactic mode, enumerating actions regarded as grave moral faults. The statement functions as ethical instruction within the broader war-time discourse, emphasizing that even amid conflict, certain transgressions remain censurable.