Shloka 57
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
इदं महत् त्वय्युपपद्यते प्रभो रणाजिरे कर्म यशोभिवर्धनम् | शतक्रतौ चापि च देवसत्तमे महाहवे जचघ्नुषि दैत्यदानवान्,प्रभो! समरांगणमें यह यशोवर्धक महान् कर्म करनेकी शक्ति तुममें तथा महायुद्धमें दैत्यों और दानवोंका संहार करनेवाले देवराज इन्द्रमें ही सम्भव है
idaṁ mahat tvayy upapadyate prabho raṇājire karma yaśobhivardhanam | śatakratau cāpi ca devasattame mahāhave jaghnuṣi daityadānavān ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “O Lord, this great deed—so fitting on the battlefield and so increasing of fame—truly belongs to you. It is possible in you alone, and in Indra as well, the noblest among the gods, who in a mighty war struck down the Daityas and Dānavas.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames extraordinary battlefield action as something that must be ‘fitting’ (upapadyate) to the agent: true greatness in war is not mere violence, but a deed aligned with rightful capacity, role, and honor—so that it becomes yaśobhivardhana (glory-enhancing) rather than adharmic aggression.
Kṛṣṇa addresses a powerful ally/leader as ‘Prabhu’ and elevates his martial capability by comparing it to Indra’s mythic feats—Indra, famed as Śatakratu, who destroyed Daityas and Dānavas in great wars—thereby encouraging and legitimizing a decisive act in the ongoing Kurukṣetra conflict.