Shloka 57
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
विलोहिताय रुद्राय नीलग्रीवाय शूलिने । अमोघाय मृगाक्षाय प्रवरायुधयोधिने
vilohitāya rudrāya nīlagrīvāya śūline | amoghāya mṛgākṣāya pravarāyudhayodhine ||
Duryodhana bringt Rudra-Śiva einen ehrfürchtigen Hymnus dar: „Ehrerbietung dir, dem purpurroten Rudra, der die Frevler weinen lässt; dir, dem Blaukehligen, dem Dreizackträger. Dein bloßer Anblick trägt unfehlbare Frucht; deine Augen sind wie die eines Hirsches; du bist der vornehmste Kämpfer, der mit erlesenen Waffen streitet.“ Im moralischen Klima des Krieges betont dieses Lob die Abhängigkeit des Herrschers von göttlicher Macht zum Sieg und lässt zugleich die Spannung zwischen Frömmigkeit und der ethischen Last einer gewaltsamen Sache anklingen.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights bhakti expressed through epithets: the divine is portrayed as both fearsome (Rudra, trident-bearing) and gracious (his sight is ‘amogha’, unfailing). In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, it also suggests that devotion does not automatically resolve the moral weight of one’s actions; it can coexist with, and even intensify, the urgency of choices made in war.
In Karṇa Parva, amid the escalating battle, Duryodhana addresses a prayerful praise to Rudra-Śiva, invoking his formidable attributes and seeking effective divine support. The stuti functions as a moment of supplication and psychological fortification before or during martial crisis.