Shloka 30
काकोपमोपदेशः
The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa
तमुद्यतगं दृष्टवा दण्डहस्तमिवान्तकम्
tam udyataṃ dṛṣṭvā daṇḍahastam ivāntakam | daṇḍadhārī yamarājaka-samaḥ sa gadām udyamya dṛṣṭaḥ | dharmarājena ca tava putre ’tyanta-vegaśālinī mahāśaktir nipātitā | sā prajvalitā guru-ulkā-samā dīpyamānā babhūva ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als er ihn mit erhobener Waffe stehen sah—wie der Tod selbst, den Stab in der Hand, Yama, dem König der Gerechtigkeit, gleich—schlug Dharma-rāja deinen Sohn mit einer mächtigen Śakti-Waffe von ungeheurer Geschwindigkeit. Dieses flammende Geschoss leuchtete strahlend wie ein großer brennender Meteor, als es seinem Ziel entgegenschoss.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield violence within the moral imagery of daṇḍa (punishment) and Yama (justice): even in war, action is portrayed as accountable and ethically charged—power is legitimate when aligned with dharma and the restoration of order.
Sañjaya describes a combat moment: a warrior appears terrifying like Death/Yama with raised weaponry, and Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) responds by hurling a blazing, fast mahāśakti at Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, shining like a great meteor.