Shloka 44
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
दक्षिणा त्वस्य यज्ञस्य धृष्टद्युम्न: प्रतापवान् | वैतानिके कर्ममुखे जातो यः कृष्ण पावकात्,श्रीकृष्ण! जो श्रौत यज्ञके आरम्भमें ही साक्षात् अग्निकुण्डसे प्रकट हुआ था, वह प्रतापी वीर धृष्टद्युम्न इस यज्ञकी दक्षिणाका कार्य सम्पादन करेगा
dakṣiṇā tv asya yajñasya dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ pratāpavān | vaitānike karmamukhe jāto yaḥ kṛṣṇa pāvakāt ||
Karna berkata: “Untuk yajña ini, dakṣiṇā—persembahan upah kurban—akan ditunaikan oleh Dhṛṣṭadyumna yang gagah perkasa. Wahai Kṛṣṇa, dialah yang lahir dari api suci pada permulaan ritus Veda; biarlah ia menyelesaikan tugas dakṣiṇā bagi yajña ini.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical-ritual principle that a yajña is not merely intention or display: it is validated through proper performance, including the rightful giving of dakṣiṇā. It also underscores fitness for duty—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, fire-born and ritually linked to the śrauta act, is presented as an appropriate agent to execute that formal obligation.
In Karna’s speech, he points to Dhṛṣṭadyumna—renowned for being born from the sacrificial fire—and assigns him the role connected with the yajña’s dakṣiṇā (the formal completion-gift). The statement uses ritual imagery to frame impending political-military action in the language of Vedic sacrifice, linking persons and duties to a sacrificial ‘procedure.’