Shloka 54
तस्य तल्लाघवं पार्थो नामृष्पत महाबल:,शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले महाबली अर्जुन कर्णकी इस फुर्तीको न सह सके। उन्होंने सूतपुत्र कर्णजो शिलापर तेज किये हुए स्वच्छ अग्रभागवाले तीन सौ बाण मारे
tasya tal-lāghavaṁ pārtho nāmṛṣyata mahābalaḥ | śatrūṇāṁ santāpa-janano mahābalī arjunaḥ sūtaputraṁ karṇaṁ śilā-pari-tejitaiḥ śucy-agra-bhāgaiḥ triśatena bāṇaiḥ samavākirat ||
Sañjaya said: Mighty Arjuna could not endure that display of swiftness. A tormentor of foes, he showered the charioteer’s son Karṇa with three hundred arrows—stone-whetted and keen-pointed—meeting speed with disciplined force in the relentless ethics of battlefield response.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethic of meeting an opponent’s advantage (here, speed and agility) with resolute, proportionate martial response—discipline and effectiveness in action rather than hesitation when duty demands engagement.
Observing the opponent’s swift maneuvering, Arjuna refuses to yield psychological ground; he counters by releasing a concentrated volley of three hundred stone-whetted, sharp-pointed arrows at Karṇa.