Shloka 54
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
तदत्र पुण्डरीकाक्ष निधत्स्व यदभीप्सितम् । यथा कार्त्स्न्येन वार्ष्णेय क्षत्रं स्वर्गमवाप्रुयात्,कमलनयन वृष्णिनन्दन! आप भी इसकी सिद्धिके लिये ही ऐसा मनोवांछित प्रयत्न करें, जिससे यह सारा-का-सारा क्षत्रियसमूह स्वर्गलोकमें पहुँच जाय
tad atra puṇḍarīkākṣa nidhatsva yad abhīpsitam | yathā kārtsnyena vārṣṇeya kṣatraṃ svargam avāpruyāt ||
Therefore, O lotus-eyed one, decide here upon what you truly desire. O Vārṣṇeya, act with such resolve—seeking the very accomplishment you intend—that the entire body of kṣatriyas may, in its entirety, attain heaven.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames decisive action in terms of intended ends: one should firmly choose a course aligned with one’s aim, here expressed as the kṣatriya ideal where fulfilling warrior-duty—even through catastrophic conflict—culminates in Svarga. It highlights resolve (nidhatsva) and totality (kārtsnyena) in pursuing a chosen dharmic outcome.
Karna addresses Krishna with honorific epithets and urges him to determine and pursue what he truly intends, in a way that results in the entire kṣatriya host attaining heaven—an ominous counsel that anticipates the all-consuming war and interprets its consequences through the warrior’s eschatological lens.