Shloka 50

Devanagari script

प्रादुष्करोम्येष महास्त्रमुग्रं शिवाय लोकस्य वधाय सौते: । तन्मे5नुजानातु भवान्‌ सुराश्च ब्रह्मा भवो वेदविदश्न सर्वे,'प्रभो! मैं जगत्‌के कल्याण और सूतपुत्रके वधके लिये अब एक महान्‌ एवं भयंकर अस्त्र प्रकट कर रहा हूँ। इसके लिये आप, ब्रह्माजी, शंकरजी, समस्त देवता तथा सम्पूर्ण ब्रह्मवेत्ता मुझे आज्ञा दें!

Transliteration

prāduṣkaromyeṣa mahāstram ugraṃ śivāya lokasya vadhāya sauteḥ | tan me 'nujānātu bhavān surāś ca brahmā bhavo vedavidaś ca sarve ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “I now bring forth this mighty and terrible weapon—intended for the welfare of the world and for the slaying of the Sūta’s son (Karna). Let you, and Brahmā, and Bhava (Śiva), and all the gods, and all who know the Veda, grant me permission.”

Word by Word

• {'prāduṣkaromi': 'I manifest, bring forth, reveal (a weapon/force)', 'eṣa': 'this', 'mahāstram': 'great missile/weapon

• a powerful divine weapon', 'ugram': 'fierce, terrible, formidable', 'śivāya': 'for auspiciousness

• for the good/welfare (of the world)', 'lokasya': 'of the world, of the people', 'vadhāya': 'for the killing, for the slaying', 'sauteḥ': 'of the Sūta’s son (i.e., Karṇa)', 'tat': 'that (act/weapon)', 'me': 'for me, to me', 'anujānātu': 'may (he/they) permit, authorize, give consent', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'surāḥ': 'the gods, deities', 'brahmā': 'Brahmā', 'bhavaḥ': 'Bhava, a name of Śiva', 'vedavidaḥ': 'knowers of the Veda', 'sarve': 'all'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mahāstra (great weapon)
• Karṇa (Sūtaputra, Sūta’s son)
• Brahmā
• Bhava (Śiva)
• the Devas (gods)
• Veda-knowers (vedavidaḥ)
• loka (the world)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, the release of overwhelming power (mahāstra) is framed as requiring higher authorization and moral justification—here expressed as ‘for the welfare of the world’ and sanctioned by divine and Vedic authority—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s tension between necessary violence and ethical restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (introduced as Sañjaya) reports the impending manifestation of a fearsome great weapon, explicitly aimed at the death of the Sūta’s son (Karṇa), while invoking consent from Brahmā, Śiva (Bhava), the gods, and Veda-knowers—presenting the act as both momentous and requiring cosmic approval.