Shloka 26
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
विव्याध चैनं दशभ्ि: क्रुद्धो नृत्यन्निवेषुभि: । कर्ण च तूर्ण विव्याध त्रिसप्तत्या शितै: शरै:
vivyādha cainaṃ daśabhiḥ kruddho nṛtyann iveṣubhiḥ | karṇaṃ ca tūṛṇaṃ vivyādha trisaptatyā śitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Bhīma struck him with ten arrows, as though dancing in the fury of battle. Then, without delay, he also pierced Karṇa with seventy-three razor-sharp shafts. The scene shows how wrath and martial skill, once unleashed, drive the fighters into relentless escalation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) intensifies conflict: martial prowess becomes more destructive when driven by wrath. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, battlefield duty may demand fierce action, yet the narrative repeatedly warns that uncontrolled rage accelerates suffering and hardens enmity.
Sañjaya narrates a rapid exchange in battle: Bhīma, enraged and moving with dance-like speed, wounds an opponent with ten arrows and then immediately strikes Karṇa with seventy-three sharp arrows, emphasizing Bhīma’s force and the ferocity of the encounter.