Shloka 486
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
विदूरपातात् तोयस्य कि पुनः कर्ण वायस: । सूतपुत्र कर्ण! समुद्रमें विचरनेवाले मनुष्य भी उसकी गम्भीरताके कारण दिशाओंद्वारा आवृत उसकी जलराशिकी थाह नहीं जान पाते
vidūrapātāt toyasya ki punaḥ karṇa vāyasaḥ | sūtaputra karṇa! samudre vicaranevāle manuṣyā api tasya gambhīratayā diśāṃ-dvārā āvṛtāṃ tasya jalarāśeḥ thāhaṃ na jānanti, punaḥ sa vāyasaḥ kevalaṃ kiñcid dūraṃ uḍḍīyaiva kathaṃ tasya samudrajala-samūhasya pāraṃ prāpnoti?
天鹅说道：“若连在极远之处也无法测知水之深浅，那么乌鸦又有何指望，哦迦尔纳？哦迦尔纳，驭者之子——纵使是行走于海上的人，也因其浩瀚深邃而不能穷尽其水域；那大海仿佛以四方为幕，将自身遮蔽。如此之海，那乌鸦仅凭飞出一小段路程，又怎能抵达彼岸？”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment and humility: one should not presume to accomplish what exceeds one’s capacity. The ocean symbolizes an immense, profound undertaking; the crow symbolizes limited ability and overconfidence. True wisdom recognizes scale, depth, and one’s proper measure before attempting to ‘reach the far shore.’
A Swan addresses Karṇa with a pointed metaphor. It argues that even experienced humans cannot fathom the ocean’s depth, so a mere crow cannot cross it by flying a short distance. The speech functions as a warning to Karṇa against misplaced confidence in confronting something vast and unfathomable.