Shloka 12
काकोपमोपदेशः
The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa
ततो दुर्योधनो राजा धर्मशीलस्य मारिष । शिलाशितेन भल्लेन धरनुश्चिच्छेद संयुगे,मान्यवर! तदनन्तर युद्धस्थलमें राजा दुर्योधनने सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए भल्लसे धर्मात्मा राजा युधिष्ठिरका धनुष काट दिया
tato duryodhano rājā dharmaśīlasya māriṣa | śilāśitena bhallena dhanuś ciccheda saṁyuge ||
Sañjaya sprach: Dann zerschnitt König Duryodhana, o Ehrwürdiger, mitten im Kampf den Bogen des dharmatreuen Königs mit einem breitköpfigen Pfeil, der am Schleifstein geschärft worden war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, skill and decisive action can momentarily overpower moral stature; it implicitly invites reflection on the tension between dharma (righteous character) and the harsh mechanics of battlefield strategy.
Sanjaya reports that Duryodhana strikes effectively in combat, using a whetstone-sharpened broad-headed arrow to sever the opponent’s bow—identified in the Gita Press gloss as Yudhishthira—thereby disrupting his fighting capacity.