Shloka 22
कर्ण-पाण्डव-संमर्दः — Karṇa and Arjuna’s Intensified Engagement
स सायकमयैजललिैर्भीम: कर्णरथं प्रति । भानुमद्धिः शिलाधौतैर्भानो: प्राच्छादयत् प्रभाम्,कर्णके रथपर भीमसेनने सानपर चढ़ाकर स्वच्छ किये हुए तेजस्वी बाणोंका जाल-सा बिछाकर सूर्यकी प्रभाको आच्छादित कर दिया
sa sāyakamayair jalalair bhīmaḥ karṇarathaṃ prati | bhānumadbhir śilādhautair bhānoḥ prācchādayat prabhām ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīma, hurling a dense shower of arrows toward Karṇa’s chariot—arrows bright and keen as if polished on stone—so covered the sun’s radiance that the sky seemed veiled. The scene underscores the war’s relentless intensity: prowess is displayed not for sport but as a grave instrument within a dharmic struggle, where courage and restraint are continually tested amid destructive necessity.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the awe-inspiring force of martial skill within a dharmic war: power can eclipse even nature’s light, yet it remains morally weighty because it is exercised in a context where duty, justice, and self-control are under constant trial.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma directing a net-like barrage of bright, sharpened arrows at Karṇa’s chariot, so intense that it metaphorically ‘covers’ the sun’s radiance—an image of overwhelming attack and battlefield ferocity.