Shloka 30
कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat
तत:ः सुशर्मा राजेन्द्र गृहीतां वीक्ष्य वाहिनीम् । सौपर्णमस्त्रं त्वरित: प्रादुश्चक्रे महारथ:,राजेन्द्र! महारथी सुशर्माने अपनी सेनाको नागोंद्वारा बँधी हुई देख तुरंत ही गारुडास्त्र प्रकट किया
tataḥ suśarmā rājendra gṛhītāṁ vīkṣya vāhinīm | sauparṇam astraṁ tvaritaḥ prāduścakre mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Dann, o König, brachte Suśarmā, ein großer Wagenkämpfer, als er sein Heer ergriffen und wie von Schlangen gebunden sah, eilends die Sauparṇa-Waffe (Garuḍa) hervor.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the principle of countering harm by removing restraint: when a force is bound and rendered helpless, the immediate ethical priority in a warrior context is restoration of agency and protection of one’s troops. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring motif that every power (astra) has an answering counter-power, urging discernment and responsibility in deploying force.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Suśarmā sees his army trapped as if by serpents (a binding nāga-type effect) and promptly manifests the Sauparṇa (Garuḍa) weapon, traditionally understood as a counter to serpent forces, to free or neutralize that binding.