Shloka 673
ह्ृता: सर्वा: शरौघैस्तै: कर्णपाण्डवयोस्तदा । नरेश्वरर कर्ण और भीमसेनके बाणसमूहोंसे मध्याह्नकालमें तपते हुए सूर्यकी सारी प्रचण्ड किरणें भी फीकी पड़ गयी थीं
hṛtāḥ sarvāḥ śaraughais taiḥ karṇa-pāṇḍavayos tadā | nareśvara karṇa aura bhīmasenake bāṇa-samūhoṃse madhyāhna-kālameṃ tapate hue sūryakī sārī pracaṇḍa kiraṇeṃ bhī phīkī paṛa gayī thīṃ |
Sañjaya said: At that time, in the fierce exchange of arrow-showers between Karṇa and the Pāṇḍava (Bhīmasena), even the blazing rays of the midday sun seemed to lose their brilliance—overpowered by the storm of missiles. The narration underscores how human resolve and martial prowess, when driven by wrath and rivalry, can make the very world appear dim, as if nature itself recoils before the violence of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic hyperbole—arrows outshining the midday sun—to highlight the terrifying magnitude of war. Ethically, it suggests that when rivalry and wrath dominate, even the natural order seems eclipsed; martial excellence without restraint can darken the world rather than uphold dharma.
Sañjaya describes an intense phase of combat in the Karṇa Parva: Karṇa and the Pāṇḍava champion Bhīmasena unleash such dense volleys of arrows that the sun’s fierce midday rays appear to fade, as if overwhelmed by the missile-storm.