Shloka 19

Devanagari script

तस्यास्यतो धरनुर्भीमश्नकर्त निशितैस्त्रिभि: । रथनीडाच्च यन्तारं भल्लेनापातयत्‌ क्षितौ,इस प्रकार बाण चलाते हुए कर्णके धनुषको भीमसेनने तीन तीखे बाणोंद्वारा काट डाला और एक भल्ल मारकर सारथिको रथकी बैठकसे नीचे पृथ्वीपर गिरा दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tasyāsyato dhanuḥ bhīmaś chittvā niśitais tribhiḥ | rathanīḍāc ca yantāraṃ bhallena apātayat kṣitau ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Während Karṇa seine Pfeile abschoss, hieb Bhīmasena ihm den Bogen mit drei rasiermesserscharfen Schäften entzwei; dann traf er mit einem breitköpfigen Pfeil den Wagenlenker und stürzte ihn vom Sitz des Streitwagens zur Erde.

Word by Word

तस्यof him (Karna)

अस्यतःwhile (he) was shooting

धनुःbow

भीमःBhima

अश्नकर्त्the cutter (lit. edge-cutter; i.e., he who cut)

निशितैःwith sharp (ones)

त्रिभिःwith three

रथनीडात्from the chariot-seat (chariot-nest)

चand

यन्तारम्the charioteer

भल्लेनwith a bhalla-arrow

अपातयत्caused to fall; struck down

क्षितौon the ground

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Karṇa

yantā (charioteer)

dhanuḥ (bow)

ratha (chariot)

bhalla (broad-headed arrow)

kṣiti (earth/ground)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Within the Mahābhārata’s war ethic, victory often turns on disabling an enemy’s capacity to fight (weapon, chariot, driver). The verse highlights the tension between strategic necessity and the harsh moral cost of war, even when actions occur under the umbrella of kṣatriya-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

As Karṇa is actively shooting, Bhīmasena cuts Karṇa’s bow with three sharp arrows and then strikes the charioteer with a bhalla, causing him to fall from the chariot-seat to the ground.