Shloka 44
दक्षिणा त्वस्य यज्ञस्य धृष्टद्युम्न: प्रतापवान् | वैतानिके कर्ममुखे जातो यः कृष्ण पावकात्,श्रीकृष्ण! जो श्रौत यज्ञके आरम्भमें ही साक्षात् अग्निकुण्डसे प्रकट हुआ था, वह प्रतापी वीर धृष्टद्युम्न इस यज्ञकी दक्षिणाका कार्य सम्पादन करेगा
dakṣiṇā tv asya yajñasya dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ pratāpavān | vaitānike karmamukhe jāto yaḥ kṛṣṇa pāvakāt ||
Karna said: “For this sacrifice, the sacrificial fee (dakṣiṇā) will be carried out by the mighty Dhṛṣṭadyumna—he who, O Kṛṣṇa, was born from the sacred fire at the very commencement of the Vedic rite. Let him accomplish the function of the dakṣiṇā for this yajña.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical-ritual principle that a yajña is not merely intention or display: it is validated through proper performance, including the rightful giving of dakṣiṇā. It also underscores fitness for duty—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, fire-born and ritually linked to the śrauta act, is presented as an appropriate agent to execute that formal obligation.
In Karna’s speech, he points to Dhṛṣṭadyumna—renowned for being born from the sacrificial fire—and assigns him the role connected with the yajña’s dakṣiṇā (the formal completion-gift). The statement uses ritual imagery to frame impending political-military action in the language of Vedic sacrifice, linking persons and duties to a sacrificial ‘procedure.’