Shloka 57
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
विलोहिताय रुद्राय नीलग्रीवाय शूलिने । अमोघाय मृगाक्षाय प्रवरायुधयोधिने
vilohitāya rudrāya nīlagrīvāya śūline | amoghāya mṛgākṣāya pravarāyudhayodhine ||
“विशेषतः लाल वर्ण वाले रुद्र, नीलकण्ठ, त्रिशूलधारी! अमोघ फल देने वाले, मृग-नेत्र, श्रेष्ठ आयुधों से युद्ध करने वाले! आपको नमस्कार है।”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights bhakti expressed through epithets: the divine is portrayed as both fearsome (Rudra, trident-bearing) and gracious (his sight is ‘amogha’, unfailing). In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, it also suggests that devotion does not automatically resolve the moral weight of one’s actions; it can coexist with, and even intensify, the urgency of choices made in war.
In Karṇa Parva, amid the escalating battle, Duryodhana addresses a prayerful praise to Rudra-Śiva, invoking his formidable attributes and seeking effective divine support. The stuti functions as a moment of supplication and psychological fortification before or during martial crisis.