Shloka 3

कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter

Devanagari script

यथा देवगणैस्तत्र वृतो यत्नात्‌ पितामहः । तथास्माभिर्भवान्‌ यत्नात्‌ कर्णादभ्यधिको वृत:

Transliteration

yathā devagaṇais tatra vṛto yatnāt pitāmahaḥ | tathāsmābhir bhavān yatnāt karṇād abhyadhiko vṛtaḥ ||

Translation

దుర్యోధనుడు అన్నాడు—అక్కడ దేవగణాలు యత్నపూర్వకంగా పితామహుడు (బ్రహ్మ)ను ఎన్నుకున్నట్లే, మేము కూడా విశేష శ్రద్ధతో కర్ణునికన్నా శ్రేష్ఠుడని భావించి నిన్ను సారథ్యకార్యానికి ఎన్నుకున్నాము.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• देवगणैः: by the hosts of gods
• देवगणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवगण
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• वृतः: chosen, selected
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• यत्नात्: with effort / carefully
• यत्नात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• पितामहः: the Grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• तथा: so, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• अस्माभिः: by us
• अस्माभिः: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: common, instrumental, plural

• भवान्: you (honorific)
• भवान्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यत्नात्: with effort / carefully
• यत्नात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• कर्णात्: than Karṇa / from Karṇa
• कर्णात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• अभ्यधिकः: superior, greater
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभ्यधिक
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• वृतः: chosen, selected
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Karṇa
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Devagaṇa (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how praise and comparison are used to secure loyalty and service in a crisis: Duryodhana elevates the addressee’s status—claiming him superior even to Karṇa—to strengthen commitment to a crucial wartime role (the charioteer), showing the ethical tension between sincere honor and strategic flattery.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Karṇa Parva, Duryodhana addresses the person appointed as charioteer and emphasizes that the Kauravas selected him with great effort, likening their choice to the gods’ choosing of Pitāmaha (Brahmā). The statement functions as reassurance and inducement before battle.