Shloka 23
Sundopasundayoḥ Tapas–Varadāna–Prasaṅgaḥ
Sunda and Upasunda: Austerities and the Boon
उपपन्नं महाप्राज्ञे कृतास्त्रे सूतनन्दने । त्वयि विक्रमसम्पन्नमिदं वचनमीदृशम्,“कर्ण! तुम परम बुद्धिमान, अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंके ज्ञाता और सूतकुलको आनन्दित करनेवाले हो। ऐसा पराक्रमयुक्त वचन तुम्हारे ही योग्य है
upapannaṃ mahāprājñe kṛtāstre sūtanandane | tvayi vikramasampannam idaṃ vacanam īdṛśam ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O Karna, ang ganitong pananalita ay lubos na nababagay sa iyo—na sukdulang marunong, bihasa sa mga sandata, at kagalakan ng angkang Sūta. Ang mga salitang hitik sa kagitingan ay ikaw lamang ang karapat-dapat.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical praise: speech should be appropriate to one’s qualities, and true valor is linked with wisdom and disciplined mastery. It also highlights how social identity (lineage) is invoked to affirm or position a person within the epic’s moral and political world.
Vaiśaṃpāyana comments on Karṇa, affirming that a bold, valorous statement just made is fitting for him because he is intelligent, skilled in weapons, and celebrated as a ‘Sūtanandana’—thereby reinforcing Karṇa’s martial stature and the narrative’s attention to his contested social identity.