Shloka 9

Draupadī’s Identification of the Pāṇḍavas and the Onset of the Chariot Engagement (द्रौपदी-पाण्डव-परिचयः)

Devanagari script

न चापि पादभाक्‌ कर्ण: पाण्डवानां नृपोत्तम | धनुर्वेदे च शौर्ये च धर्मे वा धर्मवत्सल,महाबाहो! उस समय खोटी बुद्धिवाले सूतपुत्र कर्णका पराक्रम भी तुमसे छिपा नहीं था। नृपश्रेष्ठ! धर्मवत्सल! मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि धनुर्वेद, शौर्य और धर्माचरणमें कर्ण पाण्डवोंकी अपेक्षा चौथाई योग्यता भी नहीं रखता है

Transliteration

na cāpi pādabhāk karṇaḥ pāṇḍavānāṁ nṛpottama | dhanurvede ca śaurye ca dharme vā dharmavatsala ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Tâu bậc vương thượng, Karṇa chẳng đáng nổi một phần tư khi đem so với các Pāṇḍava—dù là về binh thư cung tiễn, về dũng khí, hay về sự thực hành dharma. Hỡi bậc tay mạnh, người mến dharma, ngay khi ấy võ công của kẻ con nhà sūta lầm lạc kia cũng không thể che giấu khỏi ngài.”

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'ca api': 'and also

• even', 'pādabhāk': 'entitled to a quarter share

• worthy of one-fourth', 'karṇaḥ': 'Karna', 'pāṇḍavānām': 'of the Pāṇḍavas', 'nṛpottama': 'O best of kings', 'dhanurvede': 'in Dhanurveda, the science of archery/warfare', 'śaurye': 'in heroism, valor', 'dharme': 'in dharma

• righteous conduct', 'vā': 'or', 'dharmavatsala': 'O one devoted/affectionate to dharma', 'mahābāho': 'O mighty-armed one'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Karṇa
• Pāṇḍavas
• Dhanurveda

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames true excellence as multi-dimensional: not only martial skill (dhanurveda) and courage (śaurya) but also ethical integrity (dharma). It implies that reputation or loud claims do not equal merit; dharma is a decisive measure of worth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a king and evaluates Karṇa’s standing against the Pāṇḍavas, asserting that Karṇa does not reach even a quarter of their competence in archery, valor, or dharmic conduct, while noting that Karṇa’s (misguided) prowess was nevertheless known to the listener.