Shloka 39
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
असयोअत्र कपालानि पुरोडाशा: शिरांसि च | हविस्तु रुधिरं कृष्ण तस्मिन् यज्ञे भविष्यति,श्रीकृष्ण! उस यज्ञमें खड़ग ही कपाल, शत्रुओंके मस्तक ही पुरोडाश तथा रुधिर ही हविष्य होंगे
asayo 'tra kapālāni puroḍāśāḥ śirāṃsi ca | havis tu rudhiraṃ kṛṣṇa tasmin yajñe bhaviṣyati ||
Karna berkata: “Wahai Krishna! Dalam yajña itu, pedang-pedang akan menjadi mangkuk kurban; kepala-kepala musuh akan menjadi persembahan puroḍāśa; dan darah sendirilah yang akan menjadi oblation.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns how easily sacred language can be used to legitimize violence: by calling war a ‘yajña’, Karna rhetorically sanctifies bloodshed. Ethically, it highlights the degeneration of dharma when dialogue and restraint are abandoned, and when ritual ideals are inverted into instruments of destruction.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and declarations, Karna addresses Krishna with a fierce resolve. He portrays the impending battle as a horrific sacrificial rite—swords as vessels, enemy heads as offerings, and blood as oblation—signaling his commitment to fight and the near-inevitability of war.