Shloka 28
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
इतना ही नहीं, उन्होंने हितैषी सुहृदोंके बीचमें उनके देखते-देखते कर्णके पुत्र भानुसेनको दस बाणोंसे घोड़े, सारथि, आयुध और ध्वजोंसहित मार गिराया ।।
kṣurapraṇunnaṃ tat tasya śiraś candranibhānanam | śubhadarśanam evāsīj jānāl bhraṣṭam ivāmbujam ||
Sañjaya said: Bhānusena’s head—its face lovely like the moon—was severed by a razor-edged arrow. Even as it fell, it appeared beautiful, like a lotus blossom snapped from its stalk. The verse evokes the grim aesthetic of epic war: valor and kinship cannot avert the inexorable consequences of battle, and death is told with stark, almost ritual clarity.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s sober war-ethic: even noble lineage and personal bonds cannot halt the consequences of adharma-driven conflict. It also shows how epic narration can describe death with controlled, almost ceremonial imagery, reminding the listener of impermanence amid martial glory.
Sañjaya reports that Bhānusena’s head is cut off by a razor-edged arrow; as it falls, it is compared to a lotus flower broken from its stalk, emphasizing both the suddenness of death and the poetic simile used to depict the scene.