Shloka 27
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
गव्यस्य तृप्ता मांसस्य पीत्वा गौडं सुरासवम् | गौरीभि: सह नसिभिर्बृहतीभि: स्वलंकृता:
gavyasya tṛptā māṁsasya pītvā gauḍaṁ surāsavam | gaurībhiḥ saha nasibhir bṛhatībhiḥ svalankṛtāḥ |
Karna nói: “Chúng no nê thịt bò và đủ thứ thịt, lại uống thứ rượu ngọt làm từ đường mật; trang sức lộng lẫy, đi cùng những phụ nữ da trắng, chúng mang những thanh đại kiếm mà nghênh ngang qua lại.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how indulgence in meat and intoxicants can accompany loss of restraint and a turn toward violence and display. In the Mahabharata’s ethical frame, such intoxicated bravado stands opposed to disciplined kṣatriya conduct and dharmic self-control.
Karna describes a group as feasting on meat, drinking a sweet fermented liquor, and then moving about richly adorned, accompanied by women, and carrying large swords—painting a picture of revelry linked with readiness for aggression.