Shloka 57

Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)

Devanagari script

विलोहिताय रुद्राय नीलग्रीवाय शूलिने । अमोघाय मृगाक्षाय प्रवरायुधयोधिने,“आप विशेषतः लाल वर्णके हैं, पापियोंको रुलानेवाले रुद्र हैं, नीलकण्ठ और त्रिशूलधारी हैं, आपका दर्शन अमोघ फल देनेवाला है, आपके नेत्र मृगोंके समान हैं तथा आप श्रेष्ठ आयुधोंद्वारा युद्ध करनेवाले हैं। आपको नमस्कार है

Transliteration

vilohitāya rudrāya nīlagrīvāya śūline | amoghāya mṛgākṣāya pravarāyudhayodhine ||

Translation

“นอบน้อมแด่พระรุทระผู้มีสีแดงฉาน ผู้ทรงพระศอสีคราม ผู้ทรงตรีศูล แด่พระองค์ผู้ประทานผลไม่เคยพลาด ผู้มีเนตรดุจเนตรกวาง และผู้เป็นยอดนักรบผู้รบด้วยศัสตราวุธอันประเสริฐ”

Word by Word

विलोहितायto the reddish one

रुद्रायto Rudra

नीलग्रीवायto the blue-necked one

शूलिनेto the trident-bearer

अमोघायto the unfailing one

मृगाक्षायto the one whose eyes are like a deer’s

प्रवरायुधयोधिनेto the fighter with excellent weapons

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Rudra (Śiva)

Śūla (trident)

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 highlights bhakti expressed through epithets: the divine is portrayed as both fearsome (Rudra, trident-bearing) and gracious (his sight is ‘amogha’, unfailing). In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, it also suggests that devotion does not automatically resolve the moral weight of one’s actions; it can coexist with, and even intensify, the urgency of choices made in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Karṇa Parva, amid the escalating battle, Duryodhana addresses a prayerful praise to Rudra-Śiva, invoking his formidable attributes and seeking effective divine support. The stuti functions as a moment of supplication and psychological fortification before or during martial crisis.