Shloka 4536
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
सज्यमस्य धनु: कण्ठे व्यवासृजत भारत । भारत! राधापुत्र कर्णने बारंबार हँसते हुए उनका पीछा करके उनके गलेमें प्रत्यंचासहित अपना धनुष डाल दिया
sajyam asya dhanuḥ kaṇṭhe vyavāsṛjat bhārata | bhārata! rādhāputraḥ karṇaḥ bāraṃbāraṃ hasan tasya pṛṣṭhataḥ anugamya tasya kaṇṭhe pratyāṅcāsahitaṃ svaṃ dhanuḥ nyaveśayat |
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, he let his bow—already strung—slip onto his neck. Then Rādhā’s son Karṇa, laughing again and again, pursued him and placed his own bow, with the bowstring, around the other’s neck.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, power can be expressed through humiliation and intimidation; this episode highlights the ethical strain between martial success and the restraint expected of a righteous battle (dharma-yuddha).
Karna repeatedly laughs while pursuing his opponent and, in a gesture of dominance, places his strung bow (with its bowstring) around the other’s neck, turning a weapon into an instrument of mockery and control.