Shloka 16
अर्जुन-कर्ण-सङ्ग्रामः
Arjuna–Karna Engagement in the Cattle-Raid Aftermath
आत्मानं क: समुद्धद्ध्य कण्ठे बद्ध्वा महाशिलाम् | समुद्र तरते दोर्भ्या तत्र कि नाम पौरुषम्,अपने-आपको बन्धनसे जकड़कर और गलेमें बड़ी भारी शिला बाँधकर कौन दोनों हाथोंसे तैरता हुआ समुद्रको पार कर सकता है? उसमें क्या यह पुरुषार्थ है! अर्थात् मूर्खता है
ātmānaṃ kaḥ samuddhṛtya kaṇṭhe baddhvā mahāśilām | samudraṃ tarate dorbhyāṃ tatra kiṃ nāma pauruṣam ||
Wika ni Kr̥pa: “Sino ang makapagliligtas sa sarili at makakatawid sa dagat sa paglangoy gamit ang dalawang bisig, kung itinali niya sa sarili niyang leeg ang isang napakabigat na bato? Anong ‘kabayanihan’ ang naroon? Hindi iyon tapang—kundi kamangmangan.”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
True valor is not self-destructive bravado. Deliberately taking on a crippling burden and then calling the resulting struggle ‘heroism’ is condemned as foolishness; wise action aligns effort with attainable, dharmic ends.
Kṛpa is offering counsel by using a vivid metaphor: trying to cross an ocean while a heavy stone is tied to one’s neck. He argues that such an act cannot be praised as pauruṣa (heroic effort) because it is knowingly self-sabotaging.