Shloka 54
तदत्र पुण्डरीकाक्ष निधत्स्व यदभीप्सितम् । यथा कार्त्स्न्येन वार्ष्णेय क्षत्रं स्वर्गमवाप्रुयात्,कमलनयन वृष्णिनन्दन! आप भी इसकी सिद्धिके लिये ही ऐसा मनोवांछित प्रयत्न करें, जिससे यह सारा-का-सारा क्षत्रियसमूह स्वर्गलोकमें पहुँच जाय
tad atra puṇḍarīkākṣa nidhatsva yad abhīpsitam | yathā kārtsnyena vārṣṇeya kṣatraṃ svargam avāpruyāt ||
Portanto, ó de olhos de lótus, decide aqui o que de fato desejas. Ó Vārṣṇeya, age com plena resolução—buscando a realização que intentas—para que todo o corpo de kṣatriyas, por inteiro, alcance o céu.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames decisive action in terms of intended ends: one should firmly choose a course aligned with one’s aim, here expressed as the kṣatriya ideal where fulfilling warrior-duty—even through catastrophic conflict—culminates in Svarga. It highlights resolve (nidhatsva) and totality (kārtsnyena) in pursuing a chosen dharmic outcome.
Karna addresses Krishna with honorific epithets and urges him to determine and pursue what he truly intends, in a way that results in the entire kṣatriya host attaining heaven—an ominous counsel that anticipates the all-consuming war and interprets its consequences through the warrior’s eschatological lens.