Shloka 213
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
सेषुणा पाणिना55हय प्रहसन् दौणिरब्रवीत् । तदनन्तर शत्रुनाशक बाणोंका प्रहार करते हुए पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको बाणयुक्त हाथसे बुलाकर अभश्वत्थामाने हँसते हुए कहा--
sa eṣuṇā pāṇinā hūya prahasan dauṇir abravīt | tad-anantaraṁ śatru-nāśaka-bāṇānāṁ prahāraṁ kurvan pāṇḍu-putram arjunaṁ bāṇa-yukta-hastena āhūya aśvatthāmā hāsan uvāca ||
Sañjaya sprach: Dann lächelte Droṇas Sohn (Aśvatthāmā), winkte mit der Hand und redete. Unmittelbar darauf, während er feindvernichtende Pfeilsalven entfesselte, rief er Arjuna, den Sohn Pāṇḍus, mit der pfeilbewaffneten Hand herbei und wandte sich lachend an ihn—als höhnische Herausforderung mitten in der unerbittlichen Gewalt des Krieges.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, speech and gesture become weapons alongside arrows: laughter and beckoning can signal contempt, intimidation, or a formal challenge. Ethically, it underscores the tension between kṣatriya valor (meeting a challenge openly) and the corrosive effects of mockery and aggression that can inflame hatred and prolong violence.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, while actively shooting enemy-destroying arrows, beckons Arjuna with his hand and, smiling/laughing, begins to address him—setting up a direct confrontation and verbal provocation in the midst of the battle.