Shloka 25
तत्पश्चात् वीर धृष्टद्युम्नने अत्यन्त तीखे बाणोंद्वारा उन सभी योद्धाओंको पुनः घायल करके विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले राधापुत्र कर्णके धनुषको भल्लोंसे काट डाला ।। न तु तन्ममृषे कर्णो धनुषश्छेदनं तथा । निकर्तनमिवात्युग्रं लाड्गूलस्य महाहरि:,जैसे सिंहकी पूँछ काट लेना अत्यन्त भयंकर कर्म है, उसे कोई महान् सिंह नहीं सह सकता, उसी प्रकार कर्ण अपने धनुषका काटा जाना सहन न कर सका
tataḥ paścāt vīraḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ atyanta-tīkṣṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ tān sarvān yoddhān punaḥ ghālayitvā vicitra-yuddha-kāriṇaḥ rādhāputrasya karṇasya dhanuḥ bhallaiḥ ciccheda || na tu tan mamṛṣe karṇo dhanuś-chedaṃ tathā | nikartanam iva atyugraṃ lāṅgūlasya mahāhariḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Thereafter the valiant Dhṛṣṭadyumna, striking all those warriors again with exceedingly sharp arrows and wounding them anew, cut down with broad-headed shafts the bow of Karṇa, the son of Rādhā, famed for his wondrous manner of fighting. Karṇa could not endure that severing of his bow; for just as the cutting off of a lion’s tail is a most dreadful deed that no great lion can tolerate, so too Karṇa could not bear the humiliation and peril of having his bow cut.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya code where honor and martial capacity are intertwined: the severing of a warrior’s bow is not merely tactical loss but a public affront. The lion-tail simile underscores how certain humiliations provoke fierce, immediate retaliation, revealing how pride and reputation drive battlefield decisions alongside duty.
In the Drona Parva battle sequence, Dhṛṣṭadyumna wounds the opposing warriors again with sharp arrows and then uses bhalla shafts to cut Karṇa’s bow. Karṇa, compared to a great lion, cannot bear this act and is stirred to intense reaction.