Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
शलभानामिव व्राता: शरा: कर्णसमीरिता: । कर्णके चलाये हुए सहस्रों सुवर्गणमय बाण आकाशकमें टिड्डीदलोंके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे
śalabhānām iva vrātāḥ śarāḥ karṇa-samīritāḥ | karṇena cālaye huye sahasroṃ suvarṇa-gaṇamaya bāṇa ākāśe śalabha-dalān iva prakāśitā babhūvuḥ |
قال سانجايا: كانت أسراب السهام التي ساقها كارنا تلمع في السماء كأسراب الجراد—سهام لا تُحصى، تتلألأ كأنها مصوغة من ذهب.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how martial excellence can become overwhelming and all-consuming; ethically, it warns that when conflict is pursued without restraint, violence proliferates like a swarm, obscuring clarity and compassion even amid claims of duty.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa releasing and driving vast numbers of arrows; they glitter in the sky like a locust swarm, emphasizing the intensity of Karṇa’s assault and the battlefield’s terrifying spectacle.