Shloka 27

सूर्य–कर्णोपदेशः

Sūrya’s Counsel to Karṇa on Kīrti and the Kuṇḍala

Devanagari script

शतयोजन विस्तारं न शक्ता: सर्ववानरा: । क्रान्तुं तोयनिधिं वीरा नैषा वो नैप्ठेकी मति:,“वीरो! सभी वानरोंमें इतनी शक्ति नहीं है कि वे सौ योजन विस्तृत समुद्रको लाँघ सकें; अतः तुम लोगोंका यह निर्णय सर्वमान्य सिद्धान्तके रूपमें ग्राह्म नहीं है

Transliteration

śatayojana-vistāraṃ na śaktāḥ sarva-vānarāḥ | krāntuṃ toya-nidhiṃ vīrā naiṣā vo naipṭhekī matiḥ ||

Translation

“Hỡi các dũng sĩ! Không phải mọi loài khỉ đều đủ sức nhảy qua biển lớn rộng trăm do-tuần. Vì thế, quyết định của các ngươi không thể được nhận làm nguyên tắc vững chắc, đáng tin cho tất cả.”

Word by Word

शतयोजनa hundred-yojana (measure)

विस्तारम्extent, breadth

नnot

शक्ताःable, capable

सर्ववानराःall the monkeys

क्रान्तुम्to cross, to stride over

तोयनिधिम्the ocean (treasury of waters)

वीराःheroes, brave ones

नnot

एषाthis

वःof you (your)

नैप्ठेकीauthoritative/standard (as a settled rule)

मतिःopinion, decision, thought

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Vānaras (monkey-heroes)

Ocean (toya-nidhi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sound judgment must be grounded in realistic assessment of capacity and conditions; a bold plan is not automatically a valid or universally applicable principle if it ignores practical limits.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya cautions the assembled monkey-heroes that the ocean’s vast breadth makes it impossible for all of them to leap across, and he rejects their proposed resolve as an authoritative or dependable course of action.