Shloka 54

Devanagari script

सर्वघाति मया मुक्तमस्त्रं परमदारुणम्‌ | केनेमौ मर्त्यधर्माणौ नावधीत्‌ केशवार्जुनौ

Transliteration

sarvaghāti mayā muktam astraṁ paramadāruṇam | kenemau martyadharmāṇau nāvadhīt keśavārjunau

Translation

Sañjaya said: “I released a supremely dreadful weapon, capable of destroying all. Yet how is it that these two—Keśava and Arjuna—though subject to mortal conditions, were not slain by it?”

Word by Word

सर्वघातिall-destroying

मयाby me

मुक्तम्released, discharged

अस्त्रम्weapon (missile)

परमदारुणम्most dreadful

केनby whom? with what?

इमौthese two

मर्त्यधर्माणौsubject to mortal law (mortal in nature)

नnot

अवधीत्killed, slew

केशवKeshava (Krishna)

अर्जुनौArjuna (the two: Krishna and Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)

Arjuna

astra (divine weapon)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the most devastating humanly-deployed force (astra) does not operate as an absolute; outcomes are bounded by dharma, destiny, and—here especially—the extraordinary protection surrounding Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. The verse highlights the ethical and metaphysical limits of violence: power alone does not guarantee rightful or final results.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a terrifying, all-destroying weapon was released, yet Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) and Arjuna survived. He expresses astonishment and implicitly points to their exceptional status and protection amid the catastrophic warfare of the Droṇa Parva.