Shloka 353
कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat
अर्जुन हृदये विद्ध्वा विव्याधान्यैस्त्रिभि: शरै: । राजन! इसी समय सुशर्माने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणसे अर्जुनकी छातीमें चोट पहुँचाकर अन्य तीन बाणोंद्वारा भी उन्हें घायल कर दिया
arjunaṁ hṛdaye viddhvā vivyādhānyais tribhiḥ śaraiḥ | rājan suśarmā śīghraṁ namragranthibhir iṣubhir arjunasya vakṣasi prahāraṁ kṛtvā anyaiś ca tribhir iṣubhiḥ punar api taṁ vyathayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: O King, having struck Arjuna in the region of the heart, Suśarmā at once wounded him further—first with arrows whose knots were bent and then again with three more shafts—pressing the violence of battle without pause.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield test of steadiness (dhairya) under repeated harm: a warrior must maintain resolve and clarity even when attacked relentlessly, while the narrative also exposes how aggression can intensify beyond necessity, inviting ethical reflection on restraint in war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Suśarmā strikes Arjuna in a vital area and then wounds him again with three additional arrows, describing a rapid sequence of attacks during the Karṇa Parva battle.