Shloka 39
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
विसिस्मापयिषु: पातैराचक्षाणो55त्मन: क्रिया: । अथ काकस्य चित्राणि पतितानि मुहुर्मुहु:
visismāpayiṣuḥ pātair ācakṣāṇo ’tmanaḥ kriyāḥ | atha kākasya citrāṇi patitāni muhur muhuḥ ||
天鹅说道：“他想以所谓的功业惊人，便不断宣扬自己的作为；然而一次又一次，乌鸦那花哨的饰物却纷纷坠落。”其义在于揭示：自我标榜的傲慢终将暴露借来的虚饰；真价值不赖炫示，矫饰在反复考验中必然崩塌。
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
Boastful self-display and borrowed splendor are unstable: when one relies on outward show and self-praise rather than genuine merit, repeated trials expose the pretense, and the ‘ornaments’ of reputation fall away.
The Swan narrates how the crow, trying to impress others with flashy aerial feats and by advertising his own deeds, is repeatedly embarrassed when his colorful adornments/gaudy trappings keep falling off.