Shloka 3
द्रोणनिन्दाश्रवणं तथा सात्यकि–पार्षतविवादः
Hearing the reproach of Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Pārṣata dispute
सहदेवने राधापुत्र कर्णको नौ बाणोंसे बींधकर झुकी हुई गाँठवाले दस बाणोंद्वारा पुनः घायल कर दिया ।। त॑ं कर्ण: प्रतिविव्याध शतेन नतपर्वणाम् । सज्यं चास्य धनु: शीघ्र चिच्छेद लघुहस्तवत्
Sañjaya uvāca: Sahadevena Rādhāputraḥ Karṇako nau bāṇaiḥ bīndhya jhukī-huī gāṇṭhavāle daśa bāṇaiḥ punar ghāyalaḥ kṛtaḥ. Taṁ Karṇaḥ prativivyādha śatena nataparvaṇām; sajyaṁ cāsya dhanuḥ śīghraṁ ciccheda laghuhastavat.
Sanjaya said: Sahadeva struck Radha’s son Karna with nine arrows, and then wounded him again with ten arrows whose joints were bent. Karna, in return, pierced Sahadeva with a hundred arrows with lowered joints, and swiftly cut his strung bow, as though with effortless skill. The episode underscores the relentless reciprocity of battlefield violence—prowess answering prowess—where personal valor is displayed, yet the moral cost of war continues to mount.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, skill and retaliation escalate rapidly: one strike invites a stronger counterstrike. It implicitly points to the ethical weight of conflict—valor may be admired, yet the cycle of violence intensifies suffering and loss.
Sahadeva wounds Karna with multiple arrows. Karna immediately retaliates by showering Sahadeva with a hundred arrows and then cuts Sahadeva’s bow even while it is strung, demonstrating tactical superiority and battlefield dominance in that moment.