Shloka 676

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

अस्यतः: सूतपुत्रस्य मित्रार्थे चित्रयोधिन: । मित्रके हितके लिये विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले तथा बाणप्रहारमें तत्पर सूतपत्र कर्णके तीखे बाणोंसे दस टुकड़ोंमें कटकर वह शक्ति धरतीपर गिर पड़ी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | asyataḥ sūtaputrasya mitrārthe citrayodhinaḥ | mitrake hitake liye vicitra yuddha karanevāle tathā bāṇaprahārameṃ tatpara sūtaputra karṇake tīkṣṇa bāṇoṃse daśa ṭukṛoṃmeṃ kaṭakara sā śakti dhartīpara gira paṛī |

Translation

قال سنجيا: إنَّ كارنا، ابن السائق، إذ كان يقاتل ببأسٍ لامعٍ من أجل صديقه—وهو دائم الترقّب لإصابة الهدف بالسهام—حطَّم تلك الرمح إلى عشرة قطع بسهامه الحادّة، فسقطت على الأرض.

Word by Word

• अस्यतः: of (him) who was hurling/throwing
• अस्यतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्यत् (√अस्/अस्? actually from √अस् 'to throw' = √अस्/अस्य् in epic usage; present participle stem अस्यत्)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• सूतपुत्रस्य: of the charioteer’s son (Karna)
• सूतपुत्रस्य: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतपुत्र
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• मित्रार्थे: for a friend’s sake / in the cause of a friend
• मित्रार्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मित्रार्थ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• चित्रयोधिनः: of the wondrous/varied fighter
• चित्रयोधिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्रयोधिन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Karna
• śakti (spear/weapon)
• earth (ground)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights loyalty as a powerful motivating virtue in human conduct—Karna fights ‘for his friend’s sake’—yet it also shows how such loyalty, when tied to an unrighteous cause, can deepen the destructiveness of war and complicate dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Karna, fighting brilliantly and focused on arrow-strikes, cutting a spear (śakti) into ten pieces with sharp arrows so that it drops to the ground.