Shloka 27

Somadatta’s Kṣātra-Dharma Accusation; Night Combat, Māyā, and the Fall of Ghaṭotkaca

Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 131

Devanagari script

तस्य भीमो भशं क्रुद्धस्त्रीन शरान्‌ नतपर्वण: । निचखानोरसि क्रुद्ध: सूतपुत्रस्य वेगत:

Transliteration

tasya bhīmo bhṛśaṁ kruddhas trīn śarān nataparvaṇaḥ | nicakhānorasi kruddhaḥ sūtaputrasya vegataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Bhīma, inflamed with fierce anger, drove three arrows with bent joints, swift with force, into the chest of the Sūta’s son.

Word by Word

तस्यof him / his

भीमःBhima

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

क्रुद्धःangry

त्रीन्three

शरान्arrows

नतपर्वणःof (him) whose joints are bent (i.e., with curved/knotted joints)

निचखानdrove in, implanted

उरसिin the chest

क्रुद्धःangry

सूतपुत्रस्यof the charioteer’s son (Karna)

वेगतःfrom/with force, due to speed/impetus

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīma

Sūtaputra (Karṇa)

three arrows

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse implicitly warns how krodha (anger) amplifies harm: even within a duty-bound battle, rage accelerates violence and narrows ethical perception, making action more driven by passion than discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, in great fury, shoots and plants three swift, well-made arrows into the chest of Karṇa (called ‘the Sūta’s son’), marking an intense exchange in the Drona Parva battle.