Shloka 3
Adhyāya 5 (Śānti-parva): Nārada’s account of Karṇa—Jarāsandha encounter and the causal grounds of Karṇa’s fall
क्षीणबाणौ विधनुषौ भग्नखड्गौ महीं गतौ । बाहुभि: समसज्जेतामुभावपषि बलान्वितौ
kṣīṇabāṇau vidhanūṣau bhagnakhaḍgau mahīṁ gatau | bāhubhiḥ samasajjetām ubhāv api balānvitau ||
قال نارادا: «لما نفدت سهامهما، وضاعت قسيّهما، وتكسّرت سيوفهما، سقط المحاربان—وهما لا يزالان ممتلئين قوة—إلى الأرض، وتصارعا متشابكين لا بسلاحٍ إلا الأذرع».
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when external means (weapons, advantages) are gone, inner force and determination can persist; therefore dharma requires conscious restraint and ethical judgment, not merely reliance on tools or circumstances.
Two combatants, having lost arrows, bows, and swords, fall to the ground yet continue the fight by grappling with their arms, showing the battle’s intensity even after weapons are rendered useless.