Shloka 11

Adhyāya 5 (Śānti-parva): Nārada’s account of Karṇa—Jarāsandha encounter and the causal grounds of Karṇa’s fall

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणस्याभिशापेन रामस्य च महात्मन: । कुन्त्याश्न वरदानेन मायया च शतक्रतो:

Transliteration

brāhmaṇasyābhiśāpena rāmasya ca mahātmanaḥ | kuntyāś ca varadānena māyayā ca śatakratoḥ ||

Translation

Nārada nói: “Do lời nguyền của một Bà-la-môn, lại thêm lời nguyền của bậc đại hồn Rāma (Paraśurāma); do ân phúc Kuntī đã ban; và do mưu kế huyễn thuật (māyā) của Śatakratu (Indra)—những nguyên do ấy cùng hội tụ đã đưa đến sự suy vong của chàng.”

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of the Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अभिशापेन: by/through a curse
• अभिशापेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिशाप
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• रामस्य: of Rama (Parashurama)
• रामस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• कुन्त्या: by Kunti
• कुन्त्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्ती
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• अश्न: he obtained/received (lit. ate; here: got)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वरदानेन: by a boon/grant
• वरदानेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरदान
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मायया: by illusion/stratagem
• मायया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• शतक्रतोः: of Shatakratu (Indra)
• शतक्रतोः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतक्रतु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Brāhmaṇa (unnamed)
• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Kuntī
• Śatakratu (Indra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how moral causality operates through multiple channels—curses incurred by wrongdoing or deception, boons given for protection, and divine stratagems—showing that outcomes in the epic are not due to a single factor but to an accumulation of ethical and karmic conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is enumerating the forces that contributed to a warrior’s eventual defeat: a Brāhmaṇa’s curse, Paraśurāma’s curse, Kuntī’s boon, and Indra’s deceptive act. The verse functions as a compact causal summary within the larger reflection on how victory and defeat arise.