Shloka 7
कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall
Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra
मेरे साथ युद्ध करते समय अश्वत्थामाके लिये आठ-आठ बैलोंसे जुते हुए आठ छकड़े सैकड़ों-हजारों बाण ढोते रहते थे। उसके चलाये हुए उन सभी बाणोंको मैंने अपने बाणोंसे मारकर उसी तरह नष्ट कर दिया, जैसे वायु मेघोंके समूहको छिन्न-भिन्न कर देती है ।।
arjuna uvāca | mayā saha yudhyamānasya aśvatthāmnaḥ prati aṣṭāṣṭa-balair yuktāni aṣṭa śakaṭāni śataśaḥ sahasraśaś ca bāṇān vahanti sma | tena muktān sarvān tān bāṇān aham api svair bāṇair hatvā tathā nāśayām āsaṃ yathā vāyur meghasaṃghān vichinatti || tato 'parān bāṇasaṃghān anekān ākārṇapūrṇāyatavipramuktān | sasarja śikṣāstrabalaprayatnaiḥ tathā yathā prāvṛṣi kālameghaḥ ||
Arjuna said: “While fighting against me, Aśvatthāmā had eight carts, each yoked with eight oxen, continually bringing hundreds and thousands of arrows for him. Yet all the arrows he discharged I struck down with my own shafts and destroyed—just as the wind tears apart masses of clouds. Then he released still more volleys: countless arrows drawn back to the ear and shot with the full force of training, weapon-skill, strength, and effort, raining down like a dark monsoon cloud pouring its waters in the season of rains.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery in action: even when an opponent brings overwhelming resources and rains down weapons with full training and effort, steadiness, skill, and timely counteraction can neutralize excess force. Ethically, it reflects the kṣatriya ideal of meeting aggression with controlled competence rather than panic or cruelty.
Arjuna describes Aśvatthāmā’s intense missile-attack. Aśvatthāmā has multiple carts supplying vast numbers of arrows and unleashes repeated volleys drawn to the ear. Arjuna counters by cutting down and destroying those arrows in mid-flight, comparing his interception to wind scattering clouds, while Aśvatthāmā’s barrage is compared to monsoon clouds raining.