Shloka 53
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
शस्त्रेण निधन गच्छेत् समृद्ध क्षत्रमण्डलम् | कुरुक्षेत्रे पुण्यतमे त्रैलोक्यस्थापि केशव
śastreṇa nidhanaṁ gacchet samṛddha-kṣatra-maṇḍalam | kurukṣetre puṇyatame trailokya-sthāpi keśava keśava |
¡Keśava! Que este próspero ejército de kṣatriyas halle la muerte por las armas en Kurukṣetra, el más sagrado de los campos, célebre en los tres mundos. Pues Kurukṣetra es un lugar de peregrinación supremamente santo para todos los mundos; que esta poderosa comunidad guerrera vaya allí y alcance la muerte bajo el golpe de las armas.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death in righteous battle as an accepted culmination of kṣatriya-duty, and it links the ethical weight of war to sacred space: Kurukṣetra is portrayed as a tīrtha where even violent death is interpreted within a dharmic, consecrated horizon.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Karna addresses Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), invoking Kurukṣetra’s sanctity and urging that the assembled warrior host proceed there, where the conflict will be decided and many will fall by weapons.