Shloka 144
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
रिपून् भार्गव देवानां जहि सर्वान् समागतान् | लोकानां हितकामार्थ मत्प्रीत्यर्थ तथैव च,'भार्गव! तुम तीनों लोकोंके हितकी इच्छासे तथा मेरी प्रसन्नताके लिये देवताओंके समस्त समागत शत्रुओंका वध करो'
ripūn bhārgava devānāṁ jahi sarvān samāgatān | lokānāṁ hitakāmārtha matprītyartha tathaiva ca ||
“O Bhārgava, slay all these assembled foes of the gods. Do it for the welfare of the worlds—and likewise to gratify me.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how appeals to ‘the welfare of the worlds’ can be used to justify personal ambition and violent ends. Ethically, it invites scrutiny of motives: when a leader frames private gratification as public good, dharma becomes rhetoric rather than restraint.
Duryodhana addresses Bhārgava (Paraśurāma), urging him to kill the assembled enemies of the gods. He presents two motives—cosmic welfare and his own satisfaction—pressing for decisive, destructive action in the context of the ongoing war.