Mahabharata — Karna Parva, Shloka 58

Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)

Devanagari script

अर्हाय चैव शुद्धाय क्षयाय क्रथनाय च । दुर्वारणाय शुक्राय ब्रह्मणे ब्रह्मचारिणे

Transliteration

arhāya caiva śuddhāya kṣayāya krathanāya ca | durvāraṇāya śukrāya brahmaṇe brahmacāriṇe ||

Translation

ドゥルヨーダナは至高の苦行の力に畏敬をもって呼びかけた。「敬礼。礼拝に値し、完全に清浄なる御方よ。滅尽そのものであり、あらゆる抗いを打ち砕く力なる御方よ。防ぎ得ず、打ち負かし得ぬ御方よ。白き光輝に燦然たる御方よ。梵（ブラフマン）、梵行を守る苦行者よ。」戦の倫理的空気の中で、この偈は勝利と破壊とを、より高く峻厳な原理の支配下に置き、人の驕りと策謀がいかに脆いかを示す。

Word by Word

• अर्हाय: to the worthy/adorable one
• अर्हाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्ह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• शुद्धाय: to the pure one
• शुद्धाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• क्षयाय: to destruction/decay
• क्षयाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• क्रथनाय: to the crushing/tormenting (one)
• क्रथनाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रथन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दुर्वारणाय: to the hard-to-restrain/irresistible one
• दुर्वारणाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्वारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• शुक्राय: to the bright/white one
• शुक्राय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• ब्रह्मणे: to Brahman/the Absolute
• ब्रह्मणे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• ब्रह्मचारिणे: to the brahmacārin (celibate/ascetic student)
• ब्रह्मचारिणे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Brahman (as the addressed supreme principle/deity)
• Brahmacārin (ascetic/celibate form)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.