Shloka 416

Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

आकेशाग्रान्नखाग्राच्च वक्तव्येषु कुकर्मसु । मद्रनिवासी सिरकी चोटीसे लेकर पैरोंके नखाग्रभागतक निन्दाके ही योग्य हैं। वे सब- के-सब कुकर्ममें लगे रहते हैं। उनके विषयमें हम तथा दूसरे लोग भी ऐसी बहुत-सी बातें कह सकते हैं

Transliteration

ākeśāgrān nakhāgrāc ca vaktavyeṣu kukarmasu |

Translation

Karna said: “From the very tips of their hair down to the tips of their toenails, they are fit only for censure. They are wholly engaged in evil deeds; about them, we and others too could say many such things.”

Word by Word

आup to, as far as

केशाग्रात्from the tip of the hair

नखाग्रात्from the tip of the nails

चand

वक्तव्येषुin matters to be spoken of / to be said

कुकर्मसुin evil deeds

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Madra (people/region implied by 'madranivāsī' in the accompanying Hindi gloss)

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 illustrates how moral condemnation can be expressed as totalizing blame (“from head to toe”), highlighting the ethical danger of sweeping denunciations and the rhetoric of vilification in wartime discourse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking harshly about a group he deems blameworthy, asserting that they are entirely devoted to wrongdoing and that many further condemnatory statements could be made about them.