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
tad atra puṇḍarīkākṣa nidhatsva yad abhīpsitam | yathā kārtsnyena vārṣṇeya kṣatraṃ svargam avāpruyāt ||
Por tanto, oh de ojos de loto, decide aquí lo que en verdad deseas. Oh Vārṣṇeya, obra con resolución plena—buscando el logro que te propones—para que todo el cuerpo de kṣatriyas, en su totalidad, alcance el cielo.
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.