Shloka 676

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

अस्यतः: सूतपुत्रस्य मित्रार्थे चित्रयोधिन: । मित्रके हितके लिये विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले तथा बाणप्रहारमें तत्पर सूतपत्र कर्णके तीखे बाणोंसे दस टुकड़ोंमें कटकर वह शक्ति धरतीपर गिर पड़ी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | asyataḥ sūtaputrasya mitrārthe citrayodhinaḥ | mitrake hitake liye vicitra yuddha karanevāle tathā bāṇaprahārameṃ tatpara sūtaputra karṇake tīkṣṇa bāṇoṃse daśa ṭukṛoṃmeṃ kaṭakara sā śakti dhartīpara gira paṛī |

Translation

Sañjaya said: As Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, fought with dazzling prowess for his friend’s sake—ever intent on striking with arrows—he shattered that spear into ten pieces with his sharp shafts, and it fell to the earth.

Word by Word

अस्यतःof (him) who was hurling/throwing

सूतपुत्रस्यof the charioteer’s son (Karna)

मित्रार्थेfor a friend’s sake / in the cause of a friend

चित्रयोधिनःof the wondrous/varied fighter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Karna

śakti (spear/weapon)

earth (ground)

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 loyalty as a powerful motivating virtue in human conduct—Karna fights ‘for his friend’s sake’—yet it also shows how such loyalty, when tied to an unrighteous cause, can deepen the destructiveness of war and complicate dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Karna, fighting brilliantly and focused on arrow-strikes, cutting a spear (śakti) into ten pieces with sharp arrows so that it drops to the ground.