Shloka 53
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
शस्त्रेण निधन गच्छेत् समृद्ध क्षत्रमण्डलम् | कुरुक्षेत्रे पुण्यतमे त्रैलोक्यस्थापि केशव
śastreṇa nidhanaṁ gacchet samṛddha-kṣatra-maṇḍalam | kurukṣetre puṇyatame trailokya-sthāpi keśava keśava |
يا كيشافا! فلتلقَ هذه الجموعُ المزدهرة من الكشاتريا حتفَها بالسلاح في كوروكشيترا، أقدسِ الميادين، المشهور في العوالم الثلاثة. فكوروكشيترا مَزارٌ (تيرثا) بالغُ القداسة لكل العوالم؛ فلتذهب هذه الجماعةُ الجبّارة من المحاربين إلى هناك ولتنَل الموت تحت ضربات السلاح.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death in righteous battle as an accepted culmination of kṣatriya-duty, and it links the ethical weight of war to sacred space: Kurukṣetra is portrayed as a tīrtha where even violent death is interpreted within a dharmic, consecrated horizon.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Karna addresses Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), invoking Kurukṣetra’s sanctity and urging that the assembled warrior host proceed there, where the conflict will be decided and many will fall by weapons.