Shloka 4
Karṇa’s Camp-Council Discourse: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament, Sañjaya’s Counsel, and Karṇa’s Request for Śalya
Book 8, Chapter 22
सहदेवस्ततो राजन् नाराचेन तवात्मजम् | विद्ध्वा विव्याध सप्तत्या सारथिं च त्रिभि: शरै:,राजन्! तब सहदेवने आपके पुत्रको एक नाराचसे घायल करके पुनः सत्तर बाणोंसे बींध डाला। तत्पश्चात् उनके सारथिको भी तीन बाण मारे
saḥdevastato rājan nārācena tavātmajam | viddhvā vivyādha saptatyā sārathiṃ ca tribhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Dann, o König, traf Sahadeva deinen Sohn mit einem nārāca (einem schweren eisernen Pfeil). Nachdem er ihn durchbohrt hatte, durchspießte er ihn weiter mit siebzig Pfeilen und verwundete auch seinen Wagenlenker mit drei Geschossen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of dharma in wartime: martial excellence and duty-driven resolve can manifest as precise, escalating force, yet the ethical tension remains—victory is pursued through violence against one’s own kin-group, revealing the tragedy embedded in the Kurukṣetra conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Sahadeva wounds the king’s son with a heavy nārāca arrow, then showers him with seventy more arrows, and also strikes the charioteer with three arrows—depicting a decisive, overpowering assault in the battle.