Shloka 27
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
येषां गृहेष्वशिष्टानां सक्तुमत्स्याशिनां तथा । पीत्वा सीधु सगोमांसं क्रन्दन्ति च हसन्ति च
yeṣāṃ gṛheṣv aśiṣṭānāṃ saktumatsyāśināṃ tathā | pītvā sīdhu sa-gomāṃsaṃ krandanti ca hasanti ca ||
కర్ణుడు అన్నాడు—“అసంస్కృతులైన వారి ఇళ్లలో—సత్తు, చేపల వంటి రూక్షాహారం తినేవారు—సీధు తాగి, గోమాంసం తిని, ఒకవైపు ఏడుస్తూ మరోవైపు నవ్వుతారు.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical judgment through the lens of āchāra (conduct): lack of refinement is portrayed as leading to loss of self-control and emotional instability (crying and laughing indiscriminately), especially under intoxication and indulgence. It also shows how moral language can be used rhetorically to shame opponents.
Karna is speaking in a heated context and disparages a group by describing their household habits—coarse food, fish, liquor, and beef—and their behavior after drinking. The line functions as a polemical insult, intensifying hostility in the war narrative.