Shloka 41
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
एवं तस्मिन् महाराज कल्पिते रथसत्तमे । देवैर्मनुजशार्दूल द्विषतामभिमर्दने,पुरुषसिंह! महाराज! इस प्रकार देवताओंद्वारा शत्रुओंका मर्दन करनेवाले उस श्रेष्ठ रथका निर्माण हो जानेपर भगवान् शंकरने उसके ऊपर अपने मुख्य-मुख्य अस्त्र-शस्त्र रख दिये और ध्वजदण्डको आकाशव्यापी बनाकर उसके ऊपर अपने वृषभ नन्दीको स्थापित कर दिया
evaṁ tasmin mahārāja kalpite rathasattame | devair manujaśārdūla dviṣatām abhimardane || puruṣasiṁha mahārāja | evaṁ devaiḥ śatrūṇāṁ mardana-kṣame tasmin śreṣṭhe rathe nirmite bhagavān śaṅkaraḥ tasya upari svāni mukhya-mukhyāni astrāṇi śastrāṇi ca nyadhāt | dhvajadaṇḍaṁ cākāśavyāpiṇaṁ kṛtvā tasya upari vṛṣabhaṁ nandinaṁ pratiṣṭhāpya ||
ಓ ಮಹಾರಾಜ, ಓ ಮನುಜಶಾರ್ದೂಲ, ಶತ್ರುಮರ್ದನಕಾರೀ—ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಆ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ರಥವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದ ಬಳಿಕ, ಭಗವಾನ್ ಶಂಕರನು ಅದರ ಮೇಲೆ ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಅಸ್ತ್ರ-ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟನು; ಧ್ವಜದಂಡವನ್ನು ಆಕಾಶವ್ಯಾಪಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಅದರ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ ತನ್ನ ವೃಷಭ ನಂದಿಯನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಿದನು.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war in the Mahābhārata is framed not only as human strategy but as a theatre of symbols and perceived divine endorsement. The sky-reaching banner and Śiva’s weapons signify authority and morale—yet the epic repeatedly warns that divine signs do not replace dharma; legitimacy is ultimately tested by conduct and consequence.
Duryodhana describes a supreme chariot fashioned by the gods. After its completion, Śiva (Śaṅkara) places his principal weapons upon it and sets his bull Nandin atop the chariot’s towering flagstaff, marking the chariot with Śiva’s emblem and suggesting formidable, divinely marked martial power.