Shloka 533
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
ततः कर्ण: सुसंरब्ध: शरैस्त्रिभिरविध्यत । पाए्डुपुत्र अर्जुनने पुन: अपने बाणोंके जालसे कर्णको आच्छादित कर दिया। तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए कर्णने तीन बाणोंसे अर्जुनको बींध डाला
tataḥ karṇaḥ susaṃrabdhaḥ śarais tribhir avidhyat | pāṇḍuputro 'rjunaḥ punaḥ svabāṇajālena karṇam ācchādayad iti | tataḥ krodhabhareṇa karṇena tribhir bāṇair arjuno viddhaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Karṇa, fiercely enraged, struck Arjuna with three arrows. Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu, once again covered Karṇa with a dense net of his own shafts. In response, Karṇa—his anger fully roused—pierced Arjuna with three arrows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how krodha (anger) fuels escalation: even great warriors, bound to battle-duty, can become driven by wrath, turning combat into a cycle of retaliation. It implicitly warns that anger narrows judgment and intensifies harm, even when one is acting within the battlefield role.
In the Drona Parva battle sequence, Arjuna showers Karna with a dense barrage—described as a ‘net of arrows.’ Karna, provoked and enraged, answers by piercing Arjuna with three arrows, continuing the fierce exchange between the two master archers.