Shloka 253

Devanagari script

मया वध्यो5भविष्यत्‌ स भैमसेनिर्घटोत्कच: । यदि महासमरमें कर्ण अपनी शक्तिद्वारा भीमसेनपुत्र घटोत्कचको नहीं मारता तो एक दिन मुझे उसका वध करना पड़ता

Transliteration

mayā vadhyo ’bhaviṣyat sa bhaimasenir ghaṭotkacaḥ | yadi mahāsamare karṇaḥ śaktyā bhīmasenaputraṁ ghaṭotkacaṁ na hanyāt, tadā ekadā mayā tasya vadhaḥ kartavyaḥ syāt |

Translation

Ghaṭotkaca, putra Bhīmasena, sesungguhnya akan terbunuh oleh tanganku. Jika dalam pertempuran besar itu Karṇa tidak membunuh putra Bhīma tersebut dengan Śakti-nya, maka pada suatu hari kewajiban membunuhnya akan jatuh kepadaku.

Word by Word

मयाby me

वध्यःto be slain / killable

अभविष्यत्would be / would become

सःhe

भैमसेनिःson of Bhīmasena (Ghaṭotkaca)

घटोत्कचःGhaṭotkaca

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu-deva

Ghaṭotkaca

Bhīmasena

Karṇa

Śakti (divine spear/weapon)

Mahāsamara (the great battle of Kurukṣetra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a wartime killing within the language of inevitability and obligation: certain destructive forces, if not checked by one agent, must be checked by another—even a deity—so that the larger balance of dharma in the conflict is maintained.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva comments on Ghaṭotkaca’s destined death: had Karṇa not used his Śakti weapon to kill Ghaṭotkaca in the great battle, Vāyu himself would eventually have had to bring about Ghaṭotkaca’s death.