Shloka 60
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
नृत्यन्निव हि राधेयश्वापहस्तं प्रतापवान् | यैविद्ध: प्रत्यविद्ध्यत् तानेकैकं त्रिगुणै: शरै:,प्रतापी राधापुत्र कर्ण हाथमें धनुष लेकर नृत्य-सा कर रहा था। जिन-जिन योद्धाओंने उसे एक बाणसे घायल किया, उनमेंसे प्रत्येकको उसने तीन गुने बाणोंसे बींध डाला
nṛtyann iva hi rādheyaḥ śvāpa-hastaṁ pratāpavān | yair viddhaḥ pratyaviddhyat tān ekaikaṁ triguṇaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Mighty Rādheya (Karna), bow in hand, moved as though dancing on the battlefield. Whichever warriors had wounded him with a single arrow, each of them he struck back in return—piercing them one by one with threefold volleys of shafts.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the kṣatriya battlefield code: swift, proportionate retaliation and unwavering courage. It also portrays how mastery in war can appear effortless—‘like a dance’—even amid lethal conflict.
Sañjaya describes Karna’s dynamic fighting: with bow in hand he maneuvers as if dancing, and for every warrior who wounds him with one arrow, he responds by piercing that warrior with a triple set of arrows, one by one.