Shloka 326
एकैकशो निहता: सर्व एते योगैस्तैस्तैस्त्वद्धितार्थ मयैव । अन्यथा जब वह युद्धके लिये अस्त्र उठा लेगा, उस समय उस अजेय वीर कर्णको त्रिलोकीके एकमात्र शूरवीर वज्रधारी इन्द्र भी नहीं मार सकेंगे। मगधराज जरासंध, महामनस्वी चेदिराज शिशुपाल और निषादजातीय महाबाहु एकलव्य--इन सबको मैंने ही तुम्हारे हितके लिये विभिन्न उपायोंद्वारा एक-एक करके मार डाला है
ekaikaśo nihatāḥ sarva ete yogais tais tais tvad-hitārthaṃ mayaiva | anyathā yadā sa yuddhāya astram udyamiṣyati tadā tam ajeyaṃ vīraṃ karṇaṃ trilokyā ekamātraḥ śūravīro vajradhārī indro 'pi na haniṣyati | magadharājaḥ jarāsandhaḥ mahāmanasvī cedirājaḥ śiśupālaḥ niṣādajātīyo mahābāhur ekalavyaḥ—etān sarvān ahaṃ tava hitārthaṃ vividhopāyaiḥ ekaikaśo nihataḥ
Vāyu said: “All these men were slain one by one by me alone, through various stratagems, solely for your welfare. Otherwise, when he takes up his weapons for battle, not even Indra himself—the thunderbolt-bearing lord, famed as the foremost hero of the three worlds—would be able to kill that unconquerable warrior Karṇa. Jarāsandha, king of Magadha; the high-minded Śiśupāla, king of Cedi; and Ekalavya, the mighty-armed Niṣāda—each of them I have put down, one after another, by diverse means, for your benefit.”
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage stresses the decisive role of timing and strategy (upāya/yoga) in dharmic conflict: certain formidable powers must be neutralized before they fully enter battle, and even divine strength may be insufficient once conditions become unfavorable. It frames these removals as protective acts done for an ally’s welfare.
Vāyudeva claims responsibility for the earlier deaths of major warriors—Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla, and Ekalavya—saying he arranged their downfall one by one for the listener’s benefit. He warns that if Karṇa were to take up his weapons under the wrong conditions, even Indra would be unable to slay him.