Shloka 666
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
आदाय कर्ण विव्याध त्रिसप्तत्या नदन् रणे | तदनन्तर पाञ्चालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्नने अपने रथपर बैठकर दूसरा धनुष ले रणक्षेत्रमें गर्जना करते हुए तिहत्तर बाणोंद्वारा कर्णको बींध डाला
sañjaya uvāca | ādāya karṇaṃ vivyādha trisaptatyā nadan raṇe | tadanantaraṃ pāñcālarājakumāro dhṛṣṭadyumno 'pi svam āruhya rathaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ samādāya raṇakṣetre garjan trisaptatyā śarair karṇaṃ vivyādha ||
Sañjaya said: Roaring in the midst of battle, he pierced Karṇa with seventy-three arrows. Thereafter the Pāñcāla prince Dhṛṣṭadyumna, mounting his own chariot and taking up a second bow, thundered across the field and likewise struck Karṇa through with seventy-three shafts—an image of relentless martial resolve, as prowess and rivalry drive the fight on while the great war keeps testing the bounds of dharma amid violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the relentless momentum of war: skill, resolve, and retaliation escalate violence. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya valor and duty expressed through combat, while the broader question of dharma remains strained under the pressures of vengeance and rivalry.
In Sañjaya’s report from the battlefield, Karṇa is struck with seventy-three arrows amid loud battle-cries. Immediately afterward, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince, mounts his chariot, takes another bow, and roars as he pierces Karṇa with seventy-three arrows in return.