Shloka 31
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
गाण्डीवं ख्रुक् तथा चाज्यं वीर्य पुंसां भविष्यति । ऐन्द्रं पाशुपतं ब्राह्मं स्थूणाकर्ण च माधव । मन्त्रास्तत्र भविष्यन्ति प्रयुक्ता: सव्यसाचिना
gāṇḍīvaṃ khruk tathā cājyaṃ vīryaṃ puṃsāṃ bhaviṣyati | aindraṃ pāśupataṃ brāhmaṃ sthūṇākarṇa ca mādhava | mantrās tatra bhaviṣyanti prayuktāḥ savyasācinā ||
Karna dijo: «¡Oh Mādhava! El arco Gāṇḍīva, el arma khruk y el ghee sagrado serán la medida misma del valor de los hombres. Allí entrarán en juego los misiles divinos—los de Indra, los de Paśupati y los de Brahmā—junto con el arma Sthūṇākarṇa, cuando el ambidiestro Arjuna, Savyasācin, los ponga en movimiento mediante mantras».
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that true battlefield supremacy in the epic is not merely physical strength but the convergence of skill, divine endowment, and disciplined mantra-knowledge—suggesting an ethical world where power is accountable to higher order (dharma and cosmic sanction).
Karna speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava), forecasting that Arjuna—renowned as Savyasācin—will deploy famed and divine weapons (Gāṇḍīva and mantra-missiles like Aindra, Pāśupata, Brāhma, and Sthūṇākarṇa), making the coming conflict a decisive test of warriors’ valor.