Shloka 17
ततोअब्रवीद् वासुदेव: फाल्गुनं पुरुषर्षभम् । दिव्यास्त्रेणैव निर्भिद्य पातयस्व महाबल,तब वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्णने पुरुषप्रवर अर्जुनसे इस प्रकार कहा--“महाबली वीर! तुम कर्णको दिव्यास्त्रसे ही घायल करके मार गिराओ'
tato 'bravīd vāsudevaḥ phālgunaṁ puruṣarṣabham | divyāstreṇaiva nirbhidya pātayasva mahābalam ||
Then Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) spoke to Phālguna, the bull among men (Arjuna): “O mighty warrior, strike him down only after piercing him with a divine weapon.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a violent duty like war, action should be governed by discipline and rightful means. Kṛṣṇa’s counsel emphasizes controlled, purposeful force—using an appropriate (divine) astra—so the warrior’s duty is executed with restraint and strategic clarity rather than impulsive brutality.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna and urges him to bring down the mighty opponent (contextually Karṇa) by first piercing him with a divine weapon. It is a tactical instruction within the climactic Karṇa-Parva battle sequence.