Shloka 115

Devanagari script

“गोविन्द! जैसे मतवाला हाथी फले-फूले वृक्षको तोड़ डालता है, उसी प्रकार आज मैं इस कर्णको मथ डालूँगा। आप यह सब कुछ अपनी आँखों देखेंगे ।। अद्य ता मधुरा वाच: श्रोतासि मधुसूदन । दिष्ट्या जयसि वार्ष्णेय इति कर्णे निपातिते

Transliteration

govinda! yathā mattaḥ hastī phala-phulle vṛkṣaṁ toḍayati, tathā adya ahaṁ imaṁ karṇaṁ mathiṣyāmi; tvam etat sarvaṁ svacakṣuṣā drakṣyasi. adya tā madhurā vācaḥ śrotāsi madhusūdana; diṣṭyā jayasi vārṣṇeya iti karṇe nipātite.

Translation

Sanjaya said: “Govinda! As a maddened elephant snaps a tree heavy with fruit and blossom, so today I shall crush Karna. You will witness it all with your own eyes. Today, O Madhusudana, you will hear those sweet words: ‘By good fortune you are victorious, O Vrishni hero!’—when they are spoken in Karna’s hearing.”

Word by Word

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य
• Form: true

• ता: those
• ता: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: feminine, nominative, plural

• मधुराः: sweet
• मधुराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुर
• Form: feminine, nominative, plural

• वाचः: words/speeches
• वाचः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: feminine, nominative, plural

• श्रोतासि: you will hear
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (शृणोति)
• Form: periphrastic future (लुट्), 2nd, singular, parasmaipada

• मधुसूदन: O slayer of Madhu (Krishna)
• मधुसूदन: Sampradana
• Type: Noun (proper epithet)
• Root: मधुसूदन
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• दिष्ट्या: fortunately; by good luck
• Type: Indeclinable (particle used adverbially)
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: true

• जयसि: you win/are victorious
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (जयति)
• Form: present (लट्), 2nd, singular, parasmaipada

• वार्ष्णेय: O descendant of Vrishni (Krishna)
• वार्ष्णेय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun (patronymic epithet)
• Root: वार्ष्णेय
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: true

• कर्णे: in/into (the hearing of) Karna; in Karna's ear
• कर्णे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• निपातिते: when (it was) uttered/let fall; having been spoken
• निपातिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb (past passive participle used absolutely)
• Root: नि-पत्
• Form: past passive participle (क्त), neuter, locative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Govinda (Krishna)
• Madhusudana (Krishna)
• Varshneya (Krishna)
• Karna
• elephant
• tree (fruit-and-flower-laden)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the war-time psychology of certainty and boast, framed against the idea of diṣṭi (fortune) and the presence of Krishna as a moral and strategic witness. It shows how victory is rhetorically claimed as ‘auspiciously destined,’ even while the ethical weight of violence remains implicit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports a warrior’s fierce declaration to Krishna: he will crush Karna like a maddened elephant breaking a flourishing tree, and Krishna will see it directly. The speaker anticipates the moment when words of victory—‘By good fortune you are victorious, O Varshneya’—will be heard in Karna’s presence.