Shloka 18
जतुगृहदाहः — The Burning of the Lac House and the Pāṇḍavas’ Concealed Escape
अजुन उवाच अनाहूतोपसृष्टानामनाहूतोपजल्पिनाम् । ये लोकास्तान् हत:ः कर्ण मया त्वं प्रतिपत्स्यसे,अर्जुन बोले--कर्ण! बिना बुलाये आनेवालों और बिना बुलाये बोलनेवालोंको जो (निन्दनीय) लोक प्राप्त होते हैं, मेरे द्वारा मारे जानेपर तुम उन्हीं लोकोंमें जाओगे
arjuna uvāca | anāhūtopasṛṣṭānām anāhūtopajalpinām | ye lokās tān hataḥ karṇa mayā tvaṃ pratipatsyase ||
Arjuna said: “Karna, those who intrude without being summoned and those who speak without being invited are said to fall into blameworthy realms. When you are slain by me, you will attain those very worlds.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a social-ethical norm: entering an assembly uninvited and speaking without being called upon are censured behaviors, believed to lead to blameworthy consequences. Arjuna weaponizes this norm as a moral rebuke, linking improper conduct with an inferior posthumous destiny.
Arjuna addresses Karna directly in a confrontational exchange. He condemns Karna’s presence and/or speech as presumptuous and declares that, once Arjuna kills him, Karna will go to the disparaged realms allotted to such offenders—turning ethical censure into a threat within the escalating rivalry.