Shloka 71

Devanagari script

एवं कृते भवेत्‌ कार्य देवानामेव निश्चितम्‌ । आत्मकार्य च सर्वेषां गरीयस्त्रिदशेश्वर,“कर्ण दानव-पक्षका पुरुष है; अतः उसकी पराजय करनी चाहिये--ऐसा करनेपर निश्चितरूपसे देवताओंका ही कार्य सिद्ध होगा। देवेश्वर! अपना कार्य सभीके लिये गुरुतर होता है

Transliteration

evaṁ kṛte bhavet kāryaṁ devānām eva niścitam | ātmakāryaṁ ca sarveṣāṁ garīyas tridaśeśvara |

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ದೇವತೆಗಳ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗುವುದು. ತ್ರಿದಶೇಶ್ವರನೇ! ಸ್ವಕರ್ಮವೇ ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಭಾರವಾದುದು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕರ್ಣನು ದೈತ್ಯಪಕ್ಷದವನು; ಅವನನ್ನು ಕೆಡವಬೇಕು—ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ದೈವಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ಣೀತವಾಗಿ ನೆರವೇರುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

एवंthus, in this way

कृतेwhen (this is) done

भवेत्would be / should be

कार्यःto be done; fit to be done

देवानाम्of the gods

एवindeed, only

निश्चितम्certain, determined

आत्मकार्यone's own task/duty

चand

सर्वेषाम्of all

गरीयःheavier; more important

त्रिदशेश्वरO lord of the thirty (gods), i.e., Indra

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Devas

Tridaśeśvara (Indra)

Dānavas/Daityas (as a faction)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses that fulfilling one’s own necessary duty (ātmakārya) is paramount; actions aligned with a higher, divinely sanctioned purpose are presented as decisive and obligatory, even in the harsh context of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya frames Karṇa as aligned with the anti-divine (dānava/daitya) side and argues that defeating him will secure the gods’ intended outcome; he addresses Indra (tridaśeśvara) to emphasize the urgency and priority of this objective.