Shloka 19
कर्णेन सैन्यस्थापनं तथा नानायुद्धसमवायः
Karna Reforms the Host and Multiple Duels Converge
पूज्यमाने पुरा धर्मे सर्वदेशेषु शाश्वते । धर्म पाज्चनदं दृष्टवा धिगित्याह पितामह:
pūjyamāne purā dharme sarvadeśeṣu śāśvate | dharmaṃ pāñcanadaṃ dṛṣṭvā dhig ity āha pitāmahaḥ ||
Wika ni Karna: “Noong unang panahon, nang pinararangalan sa lahat ng lupain ang walang-hanggang Dharma, ang Matandang Ninuno (Brahmā), matapos ituon ang tingin sa Dharma ng mga taga-Pañcanada, ay nagpahayag: ‘Nakakahiya sila!’”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Dharma as a universal, time-tested standard and uses Brahmā’s censure to warn that local or sectarian practices can be judged blameworthy when they deviate from the broader, ‘eternal’ moral order.
Karna cites an ancient precedent: at a time when Dharma was celebrated everywhere, Brahmā looked at the practices of the Pañcanada people and uttered a sharp condemnation (“dhik”), using this as rhetorical support in his ongoing argument.