Shloka 25
स शर: पण्डितं हत्वा विवेश धरणीतलम् | यथा नरं निहत्याशु भुजग: कालचोदित:,जैसे कालप्रेरित सर्प किसी मनुष्यको शीघ्र ही डँँसकर लापता हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार वह बाण पण्डितककी हत्या करके धरतीमें समा गया
sa śaraḥ paṇḍitaṃ hatvā viveśa dharaṇītalam | yathā naraṃ nihatya āśu bhujagaḥ kālacoditaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having slain Paṇḍita, that arrow sank into the surface of the earth. Just as a serpent, driven by Time (fate), swiftly strikes a man and then disappears, so too the arrow, after killing Paṇḍita, vanished into the ground—evoking the grim inevitability that governs deaths in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring vision of kāla (Time/fate) as an overpowering force in war: death can arrive swiftly and vanish without trace, like a serpent’s strike. It invites reflection on the fragility of life and the inexorable momentum of battle once unleashed.
Sañjaya narrates that an arrow kills a warrior named Paṇḍita and then embeds itself into the earth. The event is illustrated through a simile: a serpent, driven by fate, quickly kills a man and disappears—emphasizing suddenness and inevitability.