Shloka 54

Devanagari script

तां वै शक्ति लेलिहानां प्रदीप्तां पाशैर्युक्तामन्तकस्थेव जिह्दाम्‌ । मृत्यो: स्वसारं ज्वलितामिवोल्कां वैकर्तनः: प्राहिणोद्‌ राक्षमाय,राजन! जिसे उसने युद्धमें अर्जुनका वध करनेके लिये कितने ही वर्षोंसे सत्कारपूर्वक रख छोड़ा था, जिस श्रेष्ठ शक्तिको इन्द्रने सूतपुत्र कर्णके हाथमें उसके दोनों कुण्डलोंके बदलेमें दिया था, जो सबको चाट जानेके लिये उद्यत हुई यमराजके जिह्वाके समान जान पड़ती थी तथा जो मृत्युकी सगी बहिन एवं जलती हुई उल्काके समान प्रतीत होती थी, उसी पाशोंसे युक्त, प्रज्वलित दिव्य शक्तिको सूर्यपुत्र कर्णने राक्षस घटोत्कचपर चला दिया

Transliteration

tāṃ vai śaktiṃ lelihānāṃ pradīptāṃ pāśair yuktām antakasyeva jihvām | mṛtyoḥ svasāraṃ jvalitām ivolkāṃ vaikartanaḥ prāhiṇod rākṣamāyā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Karṇa (Vaikartana) hurled that blazing Śakti—bound with noose-like bonds—at the rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca. It seemed like the very tongue of Death, ready to lick up all beings; like Death’s own sister; like a flaming meteor. Ethically, the moment marks a grim escalation: a divinely empowered weapon, long preserved for the decisive slaying of Arjuna, is instead expended to stop an overwhelming, night-born terror on the battlefield—revealing how war forces even the strongest to trade long-term vows for immediate necessity.

Word by Word

ताम्that (her/it)

वैindeed

शक्तिम्spear/weapon (shakti)

लेलिहानाम्licking (as if licking up), devouring

प्रदीप्ताम्blazing, kindled

पाशैःwith nooses/bonds

युक्ताम्joined, furnished (with)

अन्तकस्थाम्situated in Antaka (Death), i.e., belonging to Yama

इवlike, as if

जिह्वाम्tongue

मृत्योःof Death

स्वसारम्sister

ज्वलिताम्burning, flaming

इवlike, as if

उल्काम्meteor, firebrand

वैकर्तनःVaikartana (Karna)

प्राहिणोत्sent forth, hurled

राक्षसम्the demon (Rakshasa)

मायम्Maya (name/epithet); also 'illusion' (contextually a proper name/descriptor)

राजन्O king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa (Vaikartana)

Ghaṭotkaca

Śakti (divine weapon)

Antaka (Death)

Mṛtyu (Death)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājān')

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral pressure of war: even a warrior who has reserved a decisive resource for a particular opponent may be compelled by immediate danger to use it elsewhere. It underscores how choices in battle carry irreversible costs, and how ‘necessity’ can override long-held intentions—inviting reflection on dharma under extreme circumstances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Karṇa releasing the blazing divine Śakti at the rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca. The weapon is portrayed with death-imagery—like Death’s tongue and a flaming meteor—signaling that it is a near-certain killer and that the battle has reached a terrifying intensity.