Mahabharata 7.141.72 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 141, Shloka 72

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

Devanagari script

ततः प्रहस्याधिरथिरन्यदादाय कार्मुकम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ prahasyādhirathir anyad ādāya kārmukam, sahasraśo mahārāja rukmapuṅkhān sutejanān |

Translation

সঞ্জয় বললেন—তখন অধিরথপুত্র কর্ণ অট্টহাস্য করে আরেকটি ধনুক তুলে নিল। হে রাজন, রণক্ষেত্রে ক্রুদ্ধ হয়ে কুন্তীপুত্রকে বধ করার সংকল্পে সে সোনালি পালকযুক্ত অতিশয় তীক্ষ্ণ সহস্র সহস্র বাণ সংযোজিত করল।

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• प्रहस्य: having laughed
• प्रहस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रहस् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• अधिरथिः: Adhirathi (Karna)
• अधिरथिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधिरथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अन्यत्: another
• अन्यत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken
• आदाय: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• कार्मुकम्: bow
• कार्मुकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्मुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सहस्रशः: by thousands, in thousands
• सहस्रशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशः

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• रुक्मपुड्खान्: having golden feathers (shafts/vanes)
• रुक्मपुड्खान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुक्मपुड्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सुतेजनान्: very sharp, keen-edged
• सुतेजनान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुतेजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Mahārāja, implied addressee)
• Karṇa (Adhiratha-putra/Ādhirathi)
• Adhiratha
• Kuntī
• Kuntīputra (targeted Pāṇḍava, contextually Arjuna)
• another bow (kārmuka)
• golden-feathered arrows (rukmapuṅkha śara/bāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how derision and anger can fuse into a ruthless determination to kill. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, martial prowess is not morally neutral: the inner state—pride, rage, and fixation on vengeance—shapes the dharmic quality of action even on a battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, laughing, switches to another bow and rapidly sets thousands of sharp, golden-feathered arrows, driven by anger and the intention to slay Kuntī’s son (contextually, Arjuna) amid the ongoing combat of Droṇa Parva.