Mahabharata 7.161.9 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 161, Shloka 9
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
कर्ण पश्य सुददुर्बुद्धे तिछेदानीं नराधम । एष तेड्द्य शिर: कायादुद्धरामि सुदुर्मते,दुर्बद्धि नराधम! कर्ण! तू देख और खड़ा रह। दुर्मते! मैं अभी तेरा सिर धड़से उतार लेता हूँ
karṇa paśya su-dur-buddhe tiṣṭhedānīṁ narādhama | eṣa te ’dya śiraḥ kāyād uddharāmi su-durmate durbuddhi narādhama ||
Sañjaya nói: “Karna, hãy nhìn và đứng vững đó—đồ lầm lạc tột cùng, kẻ hèn mạt nhất trong loài người. Ngay hôm nay, hỡi kẻ tâm địa ác độc, ta sẽ giật đầu ngươi khỏi thân xác!”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war inflames speech into cruelty and dehumanization; it serves as a caution that even in righteous conflict, loss of self-control and contemptuous language can signal ethical decline and harden violence.
In the Drona Parva battle setting, a warrior (reported by Sañjaya) challenges Karṇa with a direct threat of decapitation, using harsh epithets to intimidate and provoke him in the midst of combat.
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