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

Sañjaya sprach: Da lachte Karṇa, der Sohn Adhirathas, laut auf und ergriff einen anderen Bogen. O König, im Zorn auf dem Schlachtfeld legte er darauf Tausende überaus scharfer Pfeile mit goldenen Federn an, entschlossen, Kuntīs Sohn zu töten.

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.