Shloka 49

दुर्योधनस्य कर्णप्रार्थना — कृपकर्णसंवादः

Duryodhana’s Appeal to Karna — The Kripa–Karna Dialogue

Devanagari script

तत्र भारत भीमं तु दृष्टवन्त: सम सायकै: । समाचिततनु संख्ये श्वाविधं शललैरिव,भारत! उस समय युद्धस्थलमें बाणोंसे चिने हुए शरीरवाले भीमसेनको सब लोगोंने कंटकोंसे युक्त साहीके समान देखा

Transliteration

tatra bhārata bhīmaṃ tu dṛṣṭavantaḥ sama-sāyakaiḥ | samācita-tanuṃ saṅkhye śvāvidhaṃ śalalair iva ||

Translation

There, O Bhārata, the warriors beheld Bhīma on the battlefield—his body densely covered with equal flights of arrows—looking like a porcupine bristling with quills.

Word by Word

तत्रthere

भारतO Bharata

भीमम्Bhima

तुbut/indeed

दृष्टवन्तःhaving seen / saw

समसायकैःwith equal/levelled arrows

समाचिततनुम्whose body was heaped/covered (with arrows)

संख्येin battle

श्वाविधम्porcupine

शललैःwith arrows/darts

इवlike/as

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Bhima (Bhimasena)

Bharata (addressed figure/lineage)

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 highlights steadfastness under suffering: even when pierced by many arrows, a warrior like Bhīma remains present in the fight. Ethically, it reflects the kṣatriya ideal of endurance and resolve amid the harsh realities of dharmic warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna reports that on the battlefield everyone saw Bhīma’s body densely stuck with arrows, making him resemble a porcupine bristling with quills—an intense visual of the ongoing, brutal exchange of missiles.