Shloka 13
भीममुग्र॑ महात्मानं त्र्यक्ष॑ शर्व॑ कपर्दिनम्,“जिनकी मूर्ति बड़ी ही उग्र और भयंकर है, जो महात्मा हैं, जिनके तीन नेत्र और मस्तकपर जटाजूट है, उन सर्वसमर्थ ईश्वर भगवान् शंकरको दूसरे लोग देख भी नहीं सकते फिर उनके साथ युद्ध करनेकी तो बात ही कया है? परंतु तुमने सम्पूर्ण जीवोंका कल्याण करनेवाले उन्हीं स्थाणुस्वरूप महादेव साक्षात् भगवान् शिवकी युद्धके द्वारा आराधना की है, अन्य देवताओंने भी तुम्हें वरदान दिये है; इसलिये महाबाहु पार्थ! तुम उन देवाधिदेव त्रिशूलधारी भगवान् शंकरकी कृपासे कर्णको उसी प्रकार मार डालो, जैसे वृत्रविनाशक इन्द्रने नमुचिका वध किया था। कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम्हारा सदा ही कल्याण हो। तुम युद्धमें विजय प्राप्त करो”
sañjaya uvāca—bhīmam ugraṃ mahātmānaṃ tryakṣaṃ śarvaṃ kapardinam | anye janā na paśyanti, tasya yoddhuṃ kutaḥ punaḥ || parantu tvaṃ sarvabhūtahitāya taṃ sthāṇusvarūpaṃ mahādevaṃ sākṣād bhagavantaṃ śivaṃ yuddhenaivārādhitavān | anyair api devaiḥ te varadānāni dattāni | tasmāt mahābāho pārtha, devādhidevaṃ triśūladharaṃ śaṅkaraṃ prasādya karṇaṃ tathā jahi, yathā vṛtravināśaka indro namuciṃ jaghāna | kuntīnandana, tava sadā kalyāṇaṃ bhavatu; yuddhe jayaṃ prāpnuhi ||
Sanjaya said: “That awe-inspiring, mighty-souled Lord—three-eyed, Shara, the matted-haired one—cannot even be beheld by ordinary beings; how then could anyone speak of fighting Him? Yet you have worshipped that very Mahadeva—Shiva Himself, the steadfast one—through battle, for the welfare of all creatures. Other gods too have granted you boons. Therefore, O mighty-armed Partha, by the grace of Shankara, the trident-bearing Lord of the gods, strike down Karna just as Indra, the slayer of Vritra, killed Namuci. O son of Kunti, may you ever be blessed; win victory in this war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous victory as grounded not merely in force but in alignment with divine order: awe before the transcendent (Śiva), devotion expressed through disciplined action, and the ethical aim of sarvabhūtahita (the welfare of all beings). Boons and grace are presented as supports for dharmic action rather than substitutes for it.
Sañjaya encourages Arjuna (Pārtha) before the climactic struggle with Karna. He recalls Arjuna’s prior propitiation of Śiva and the boons received from the gods, then urges him to slay Karna by Śiva’s grace, comparing it to Indra’s legendary killing of the demon Namuci.