Shloka 54
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
तदत्र पुण्डरीकाक्ष निधत्स्व यदभीप्सितम् । यथा कार्त्स्न्येन वार्ष्णेय क्षत्रं स्वर्गमवाप्रुयात्
tad atra puṇḍarīkākṣa nidhatsva yad abhīpsitam | yathā kārtsnyena vārṣṇeya kṣatraṃ svargam avāpruyāt ||
Потому, о лотосоокий, реши здесь, чего ты поистине желаешь. О Варшнея, действуй с полной решимостью, стремясь к задуманному свершению, — чтобы всё воинство кшатриев целиком, без остатка, достигло небес.
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.