Shloka 55
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
श्रोतारस्त्विदमद्येह द्रष्टारा वा कुदेशज
śrotārastvidamady eha draṣṭārā vā kudeśaja
วันนี้ ณ ที่นี้ ขอให้มีผู้ฟังถ้อยคำนี้—หรือให้มีพยาน—โอ ผู้เกิดจากแผ่นดินอันต่ำทราม
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line highlights how battlefield speech seeks public validation—calling for hearers or witnesses—while also showing the ethical danger of contemptuous language (here, the slur “kudeśaja”), which can degrade dharmic conduct even amid war.
Karna is speaking in the midst of the Karna Parva conflict, framing his words as something that should be heard or witnessed, and he addresses an opponent with a derogatory epithet, signaling heightened hostility and the rhetorical intensity of the war setting.