Shloka 77

Devanagari script

स मार्गणगणै: कर्णो दिश: प्रच्छाद्य सर्वश:

Transliteration

sa mārgaṇagaṇaiḥ karṇo diśaḥ pracchādya sarvaśaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Karṇa verhüllte mit dichten, in Schwärmen geschossenen Pfeilsalven alle Himmelsrichtungen ringsum — eine überwältigende Zurschaustellung kriegerischer Macht, die die moralische Finsternis des Schlachtfeldes vertieft, wo Können und Zorn die Mäßigung überstrahlen.

Word by Word

सःhe

मार्गणगणैःwith multitudes of arrows

कर्णःKarna

दिशःthe directions (quarters)

प्रच्छाद्यhaving covered, covering

सर्वशःon all sides, entirely

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

arrows

the directions (quarters of space)

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 how unchecked martial power can overwhelm the world around it; in the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such dominance is not automatically righteous—its moral value depends on intention, restraint, and alignment with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa unleashes such a dense shower of arrows that it seems to cover all directions, signaling a fierce surge in the combat and the battlefield’s intensifying peril.