Shloka 58
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
अर्हाय चैव शुद्धाय क्षयाय क्रथनाय च । दुर्वारणाय शुक्राय ब्रह्मणे ब्रह्मचारिणे
arhāya caiva śuddhāya kṣayāya krathanāya ca | durvāraṇāya śukrāya brahmaṇe brahmacāriṇe ||
“Sembah sujud kepada-Mu yang layak dipuja dan maha-suci; kepada-Mu yang adalah kṣaya—pembubaran semesta—dan daya yang menghancurkan segala perlawanan. Engkau tak terhalang dan tak terkalahkan; Engkau bercahaya putih cemerlang; Engkau Brahman, sang pertapa selibat (brahmacārin).”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid war, the text highlights a higher, austere sovereignty—purity, restraint, and irresistible cosmic power (kṣaya/krathana)—before which human ambition must bow. The praise implies that ultimate outcomes are not merely human achievements but are aligned with a transcendent order.
Duryodhana offers a stuti (praise) to a supreme ascetic/divine principle—described as pure, radiant, celibate, and irresistible—seeking protection or favor in the crisis of battle, acknowledging a power that governs destruction and victory.