Shloka 39

Devanagari script

अहं त्वामनुजानामि वीर्येण च बलेन च । जहि कर्ण रणे शूर मातज्रमिव केसरी,जैसे सिंह मतवाले हाथीको मार डालता है, उसी प्रकार तुम भी अपने बल और पराक्रमसे रणभूमिमें शूरवीर कर्णको मार डालो। इसके लिये मैं तुम्हें आज्ञा देता हूँ

Transliteration

ahaṁ tvām anujānāmi vīryeṇa ca balena ca | jahi karṇa raṇe śūra mātaṅgam iva kesarī ||

Translation

Vāyu said: “I grant you leave and empower you with valor and strength. Slay Karṇa in battle, O hero—just as a lion brings down a mighty elephant. By my command, act decisively on the battlefield.”

Word by Word

अहम्I

त्वाम्you

अनुजानामिI permit / I authorize

वीर्येणwith valor

चand

बलेनwith strength

चand

जहिslay

कर्णO Karna

रणेin battle

शूरO hero / O brave one

मतङ्गम्an elephant

इवlike

केसरीa lion

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva (Wind-god)

Karṇa

lion (kesarī)

elephant (mātaṅga)

battlefield (raṇa)

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?

The verse frames battlefield action as sanctioned duty: when a righteous objective is affirmed by a higher authority, hesitation should give way to resolute, disciplined courage—strength and valor are to be applied decisively, not impulsively.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses a warrior (implicitly his son, Bhīma in this context) and authorizes him to kill Karṇa in the ongoing battle, using the vivid comparison of a lion overpowering a powerful elephant to emphasize certainty and force.