Shloka 216

द्रौणि-पार्षतयोर्युद्धम् | The Duel of Aśvatthāmā

Drauṇi) and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata

Devanagari script

चिक्षेप भीमसेनाय जीवितान्तकरीमिव । वह महाशक्ति दूसरी कालशक्तिके समान प्रतीत होती थी। महाबली राधापुत्र कर्णने जीवनका अन्त कर देनेवाली उस शक्तिको लेकर ऊपर उठाया और उसे धनुषपर रखकर भीमसेनपर चला दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

cikṣepa bhīmasenāya jīvitāntakarīm iva |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Er schleuderte sie auf Bhīmasena, als wäre es eine Kraft, die das Leben selbst zu beenden bestimmt sei. Der mächtige Karṇa, Sohn der Rādhā, hob jene große Śakti empor—gleichsam der Macht des Todes—legte sie auf seinen Bogen und entsandte sie gegen Bhīma.

Word by Word

चिक्षेपhe hurled/threw

भीमसेनायto Bhimasena

जीवितान्तकरीम्death-dealing; ending life

इवas if/like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Karṇa (Rādhāputra)

Mahāśakti (weapon/śakti missile)

Kāla (Death/Time, as implied by kālaśakti)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: as combat intensifies, warriors resort to increasingly lethal weapons, and the presence of Kāla (Death/Time) becomes palpable. It invites reflection on how duty to one’s faction can collide with compassion, and how violence, once escalated, tends to exceed human control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Karṇa, the son of Rādhā, lifts a terrifying śakti weapon—likened to the power of Death—and hurls/discharges it toward Bhīmasena, intending a decisive, life-ending strike.