Shloka 31
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
ततः प्रहस्याधिरथिर्विंधुन्वान: स कार्मुकम् । भित्त्वा भल्लेन राजानं विद्ध्वा षष्टयानदत्तदा
tataḥ prahasya ādhirathir vindhunvānaḥ sa kārmukam | bhittvā bhallena rājānaṃ viddhvā ṣaṣṭyānadat tadā siṃhavad nanāda ||
Sañjaya said: Then Karṇa, the son of Adhiratha, smiling and shaking his bow, severed the king Yudhiṣṭhira’s bow with a sharp bhalla-arrow. In that very moment he also struck the king with sixty arrows, and roared like a lion—displaying martial dominance amid the relentless ethics of battlefield duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya-dharma in war: skill, resolve, and psychological dominance are deployed without hesitation. Ethically, it shows how duty in battle can demand decisive force even against a righteous king, underscoring the tension between personal virtue and the impersonal demands of warfare.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa confidently brandishing his bow, then using a bhalla-arrow to cut Yudhiṣṭhira’s bow and immediately wounding him with sixty arrows, after which Karṇa gives a lion-like roar as a sign of triumph and intimidation.