Shloka 15
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
महाराज! ऐसा कहकर पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरने लोहेके बने हुए सुवर्णपंखयुक्त दस बाणोंद्वारा कर्णको बींध डाला ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
mahārāja! evaṃ uktvā pāṇḍuputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ lohamayaiḥ suvarṇapakṣayuktaiḥ daśabhiḥ bāṇaiḥ karṇaṃ vivyādha ||
taṃ sūtaputro daśabhiḥ pratyaviddhyad arindamaḥ |
vatsadantaiḥ maheṣvāsaḥ prahasan iva bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, having spoken thus, Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Pāṇḍu, pierced Karṇa with ten iron arrows fitted with golden wings. Then Karṇa, the charioteer’s son—an afflicter of foes and a mighty archer—struck back, as if smiling, and wounded Yudhiṣṭhira with ten arrows known as ‘Vatsadanta.’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of immediate consequence and reciprocal action: speech and intent are tested by deeds, and each warrior answers the other within the constraints of kṣatriya-dharma, even when the outcome is painful and morally complex.
After speaking, Yudhiṣṭhira shoots and pierces Karṇa with ten iron arrows with golden feathering. Karṇa then counters at once, ‘as if smiling,’ and wounds Yudhiṣṭhira with ten arrows called Vatsadanta.