Shloka 206
काकोपमोपदेशः
The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa
आजपचघानोरसि क्रुद्धो वज्वेगैर्दुरासदै: । महाराज! वे दोनों एक-दूसरेको अत्यन्त पीड़ा दे रहे थे। तदनन्तर राजा युधिष्छिरने वज्रके समान वेगशाली एवं दुर्जय तीन बाणोंद्वारा आपके पुत्रकी छातीमें क्रोधपूर्वक प्रहार किया
sañjaya uvāca | ājapacaghānorasi kruddho vajravegair durāsadaiḥ | mahārāja! tau dvāv anyonyam atyantaṃ pīḍayām āsatuḥ | tadanantaraṃ rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ vajrasamānavegaśālībhir durjayais tribhir bāṇaiḥ tava putrasya chātiṃ kruddhapūrvakaṃ prāharat |
Sañjaya sprach: O großer König, die beiden Krieger, von Zorn entflammt, quälten einander schwer mit Angriffen, denen man kaum widerstehen konnte, schnell wie ein Donnerschlag. Dann traf König Yudhiṣṭhira, von Wut getrieben, deinen Sohn mit drei Pfeilen in die Brust—unwiderstehlich und rasch wie der Vajra—und steigerte so die düstere Gegenseitigkeit der Gewalt, die der Krieg unvermeidlich gemacht hatte.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) escalates suffering even among those committed to duty: once wrath dominates, combat becomes mutual torment rather than principled action. It implicitly warns that in war, ethical restraint is fragile, and violence tends to intensify through reciprocal retaliation.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son are fiercely exchanging blows, causing each other great pain. Then Yudhiṣṭhira, in anger, shoots three swift, hard-to-resist arrows into the opponent’s chest.