Shloka 40
प्रयाहि वृद्धिं च दिशन्तु देवता यथाहमिच्छामि तवास्तु तत् तथा | प्रयाहि शीघ्रं जहि कर्णमाहवे पुरंदरो वृत्रमिवात्मवृद्धये,“जाओ, देवता तुम्हें अभ्युदय प्रदान करें। मैं तुम्हारे लिये जैसा चाहता हूँ, वैसा ही सब कुछ तुम्हें प्राप्त हो। आगे बढ़ो और युद्धस्थलमें शीघ्र ही कर्णको मार डालो। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे देवराज इन्द्रने अपने ही ऐश्वर्यकी वृद्धिके लिये वृत्रासुरका नाश किया था!
prayāhi vṛddhiṃ ca diśantu devatā yathāham icchāmi tavāstu tat tathā | prayāhi śīghraṃ jahi karṇam āhave puraṃdaro vṛtram ivātmavṛddhaye ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Zieh aus; mögen die Götter dir Gedeihen schenken. Es möge dir genau so ergehen, wie ich es für dich wünsche. Eile voran und erschlage Karṇa im Kampf — wie Indra, der Purandara, Vṛtra tötete, um seine eigene Herrschaft zu mehren.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield action through a divine precedent: victory is urged not merely as personal prowess but as a sanctioned, goal-oriented act. At the same time, the comparison to Indra killing Vṛtra ‘for his own increase’ highlights the moral tension in war—how appeals to divine models can be used to justify violence and political advantage.
Sañjaya delivers an exhortation to advance swiftly and kill Karṇa in battle, blessing the addressee with divine favor and success. He reinforces the urgency and legitimacy of the act by invoking the mythic example of Indra (Puraṃdara) slaying Vṛtra to secure and expand his own sovereignty.