Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अजेया: पुरुषैरन्यैरिति तांश्लोत्सहामहे । विजयिष्ये रणे पाण्डूनिति मे निश्चितं मन:

Transliteration

ajeyāḥ puruṣair anyair iti tāñ ślotsahāmahe | vijayiṣye raṇe pāṇḍūn iti me niścitaṃ manaḥ ||

Translation

Karna nói: “Ta biết các Pandava—cùng với đấng Vasudeva chí tôn—là bất khả chiến bại đối với người đời khác. Dẫu vậy, ta vẫn tràn đầy nhiệt huyết muốn đối mặt họ nơi chiến địa, và tâm ta đã quyết: ta sẽ đánh bại các Pandava trong chiến tranh.”

Word by Word

• {'ajeyāḥ': 'unconquerable, not to be defeated', 'puruṣaiḥ': 'by men, by persons (instrumental plural)', 'anyaiḥ': 'by others', 'iti': 'thus

• marking reported thought/statement', 'tān': 'them (accusative plural

• referring to the Pandavas)', 'utsahāmahe (utsahāmahe/utsahāmi)': 'I am eager

• I muster enthusiasm/resolve (sense: to be spirited for action)', 'vijayiṣye': 'I shall conquer

• I will be victorious (future, 1st person singular)', 'raṇe': 'in battle, in war', 'pāṇḍūn': 'the sons of Pandu

• the Pandavas (accusative plural)', 'me': 'my', 'niścitam': 'settled, determined, firmly ascertained', 'manaḥ': 'mind, intention, resolve', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• venerable divine person', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vasudeva (Krishna), son/descendant of Vasudeva'}

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• Pandavas
• Vasudeva (Krishna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between clear recognition of an opponent’s extraordinary strength (the Pandavas supported by Krishna) and the warrior’s personal resolve and pride. It illustrates how determination can persist even against near-certain odds, raising ethical questions about ambition, overconfidence, and the limits of human agency when divine support is present.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna declares his assessment of the battlefield reality: the Pandavas, with Vasudeva (Krishna), are effectively unconquerable for ordinary men. Yet he asserts his own enthusiasm to fight them and states a firm inner conviction that he will defeat them in the war.