Shloka 21
अपूपान् सक्तुपिण्डांश्व प्राश्नन्तो मथितान्वितान् | पथि सुप्रबला भूत्वा कदा सम्पततो5ध्वगान्
apūpān saktupiṇḍāṁś ca prāśnanto mathitānvitān | pathi suprabalā bhūtvā kadā sampatato 'dhvagān ||
กินขนมอปูปะกับก้อนสัตตุไปพลาง แบกนมเปรี้ยวที่กวนไว้ไปด้วย—พวกคนเดินทางบนถนนนี้เมื่อใดเล่าจึงจะมีกำลังแท้จริงแล้วพุ่งทะยานเข้าข้างหน้า?
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses sarcasm to stress that in a dharmic battle, warriors must show disciplined strength and swift resolve; those who behave like comfort-seeking travellers with provisions are unfit for the urgency of combat duty.
Karna is speaking in the midst of the war narrative and mocks the opposing side, portraying them as mere road-travellers eating travel-food (cakes, parched-grain balls, churned curds) and asking when they will ever become strong enough to charge.