Shloka 115

अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्

Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca

Devanagari script

तस्माज्जयद्रथस्य त्वं शिरश्छित्त्वा महामृथे । दिव्येनास्त्रेण रिपुहन्‌ घोरेणाद्भुतकर्मणा,“अतः शत्रुसूदन! तुम अद्भुत कर्म करनेवाले किसी भयंकर दिव्यास्त्रके द्वारा इस महासमरमें सिंधुराज जयद्रथका कुण्डलसहित मस्तक काटकर उसे इस वृद्धक्षत्रकी गोदमें गिरा दो। भारत! तुम भीमसेनके छोटे भाई हो (अतः सब कुछ कर सकते हो)

Transliteration

tasmāj jayadrathasya tvaṁ śiraś chittvā mahāmṛdhe | divyenāstreṇa ripuhan ghoreṇādbhuta-karmaṇā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Therefore, in this great battle, cut off Jayadratha’s head and, O slayer of foes, by some dreadful divine weapon of wondrous efficacy, cast it down into the lap of the aged Vṛddhakṣatra. You are the younger brother of Bhīmasena—thus you are capable of accomplishing it.”

Word by Word

• {'tasmāt': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'jayadrathasya': 'of Jayadratha (the Sindhu king)', 'tvam': 'you', 'śiraḥ': 'head', 'chittvā': 'having cut off

• severing', 'mahāmṛdhe': 'in the great battle (locative)', 'divyena': 'divine

• celestial', 'astreṇa': 'by a weapon (astra, missile-weapon invoked by mantra)', 'ripuhan': 'slayer of enemies

• enemy-killer (vocative sense)', 'ghoreṇa': 'terrible

• dreadful', 'adbhuta-karmaṇā': 'of marvelous action/effect

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Jayadratha
• Sindhu (as Jayadratha’s realm/title: Sindhurāja)
• Vṛddhakṣatra
• Bhīmasena

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral gravity of actions in war: deeds—especially those driven by vows and retribution—carry precise consequences. It also underscores the idea that extraordinary means (divine weapons) are invoked for decisive ends, and that destiny can be fulfilled through human resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes an instruction to kill Jayadratha by severing his head with a powerful divine weapon and making it fall into the lap of his father, Vṛddhakṣatra—an act tied to the larger episode of Jayadratha’s destined end and the Pandavas’ urgent pursuit of him in the Drona Parva battle.