Shloka 233
तव बुद्ध्या हि भद्रें ते वधस्तस्य दुरात्मन: । राजा युधिष्ठिरसे ऐसा कहकर अर्जुन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णसे बोले--'श्रीकृष्ण! आज रणभूमिमें मैं कर्णका वध करूँगा, इसमें संशय नहीं है। आपका कल्याण हो। आपकी बुद्धिसे ही उस दुरात्माका वध होगा”
tava buddhyā hi bhadre te vadhastasya durātmanaḥ |
Sanjaya said: “O noble one, it is indeed through your counsel that the slaying of that wicked-souled man will be accomplished.” In the narrative frame, this points to the moral weight of guidance in war: victory is not only a matter of strength, but of right strategy and discerning counsel directed toward the removal of a destructive force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that in righteous conflict, decisive action (vadha) is ethically and practically tied to discerning counsel (buddhi). Responsibility is shared: the warrior acts, but guidance shapes the act’s direction and justification, especially when confronting a ‘durātmā’—one portrayed as morally destructive.
Sanjaya reports a moment where the success of killing the enemy is attributed to the addressee’s strategic intelligence. In the surrounding context of Karna’s final confrontation, the line functions as a narrative hinge: the coming slaying is framed as enabled by counsel rather than mere force.