Shloka 30
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
आध्वर्यवं च ते कृष्ण क्रतावस्मिन् भविष्यति । होता चैवात्र बीभत्सु: संनद्धः स कपिध्वज:,श्रीकृष्ण! इस यज्ञमें अध्वर्युका काम भी आपको ही करना होगा। कवच आदिसे सुसज्जित कपिध्वज अर्जुन इसमें होता बनेंगे
ādhvaryavaṁ ca te kṛṣṇa kratāv asmin bhaviṣyati | hotā caivātra bībhatsuḥ saṁnaddhaḥ sa kapidhvajaḥ ||
कर्ण ने कहा— “हे कृष्ण! इस यज्ञ में अध्वर्यु का कार्य भी आपको ही करना होगा। और यहाँ कवच-शस्त्र से सुसज्जित कपिध्वज बीभत्सु (अर्जुन) होता बनेंगे।”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a Vedic-sacrifice metaphor to underline the moral gravity and inevitability of the coming war: actions in war are not casual but carry ritual-like responsibility, role-bound duty, and public consequence. By assigning priestly offices to Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, Karna implies that the conflict will proceed with a grim, ordained structure rather than as mere personal quarrel.
Karna addresses Kṛṣṇa and, in a pointed, rhetorical manner, casts the impending battle as a ‘kratu’ (sacrifice). He declares that Kṛṣṇa will act as the Adhvaryu (the officiant who manages the rite), while Arjuna—armed and bearing the monkey-banner—will be the Hotṛ (the invoker/reciter). The statement both acknowledges their central roles and challenges them by elevating the war into a solemn, fateful undertaking.