Shloka 253

Devanagari script

मया वध्यो5भविष्यत्‌ स भैमसेनिर्घटोत्कच: । यदि महासमरमें कर्ण अपनी शक्तिद्वारा भीमसेनपुत्र घटोत्कचको नहीं मारता तो एक दिन मुझे उसका वध करना पड़ता

Transliteration

mayā vadhyo ’bhaviṣyat sa bhaimasenir ghaṭotkacaḥ | yadi mahāsamare karṇaḥ śaktyā bhīmasenaputraṁ ghaṭotkacaṁ na hanyāt, tadā ekadā mayā tasya vadhaḥ kartavyaḥ syāt |

Translation

ວາຍຸເທວະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຄະຖໂຕດກະຈະ ບຸດຂອງພີມະເສນະ ຄວນຈະຖືກຂ້າປະຫານໂດຍຂ້າ. ຖ້າໃນສົງຄາມໃຫຍ່ນັ້ນ ຄັນນະບໍ່ໄດ້ສັງຫານບຸດຂອງພີມະເສນະ ຄະຖໂຕດກະຈະ ດ້ວຍຫອກທິບ ‘ສັກຕິ’ ຂອງຕົນ ແລ້ວວັນໃດວັນໜຶ່ງ ໜ້າທີ່ໃນການປະຫານເຂົາຈະຕົກມາຢູ່ເທິງຂ້າ».

Word by Word

मयाby me

वध्यःto be slain / killable

अभविष्यत्would be / would become

सःhe

भैमसेनिःson of Bhīmasena (Ghaṭotkaca)

घटोत्कचःGhaṭotkaca

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu-deva

Ghaṭotkaca

Bhīmasena

Karṇa

Śakti (divine spear/weapon)

Mahāsamara (the great battle of Kurukṣetra)

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 frames a wartime killing within the language of inevitability and obligation: certain destructive forces, if not checked by one agent, must be checked by another—even a deity—so that the larger balance of dharma in the conflict is maintained.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva comments on Ghaṭotkaca’s destined death: had Karṇa not used his Śakti weapon to kill Ghaṭotkaca in the great battle, Vāyu himself would eventually have had to bring about Ghaṭotkaca’s death.