Shloka 33
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
पुन: कर्णस्त्रिसप्तत्या भीमसेनमथेषुभि: । पुत्रं परीप्सन् विव्याध क्रूरं क्ररैर्जिघांसया
punaḥ karṇas trisaptatyā bhīmasenam atheṣubhiḥ | putraṃ parīpsan vivyādha krūraṃ kraraiḥ jighāṃsayā ||
Sañjaya said: Then again Karṇa, intent on saving his son, pierced the fierce Bhīmasena with seventy-three arrows, driven by a ruthless desire to kill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension in war: protective love (saving one’s son) can quickly transform into ruthless aggression (the wish to kill). It invites reflection on how personal attachment and anger can overtake discernment, even when one is acting within the framework of battlefield duty.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, motivated by the need to safeguard his son, launches a concentrated assault on Bhīma, striking him with seventy-three arrows, explicitly with the intent to kill.