Shloka 112
तेषामापततां शूर: पञ्चालानां तरस्विनाम् | आदत्तासूज्शरै: कर्ण: पतज्रानामिवानलः
teṣām āpatatāṁ śūraḥ pañcālānāṁ tarasvinām | ādatta asūñ śaraiḥ karṇaḥ pataṅgānām ivānalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As those mighty Pāñcāla warriors rushed in, the heroic Karṇa, with his arrows, swiftly took away their lives—like a blazing fire consuming moths that fly into it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh moral reality of war: courage alone does not protect one from destruction when confronting superior martial skill. It also reflects the kṣatriya battlefield ethic where life is staked and taken decisively, and poetic simile is used to convey the inevitability of death when one rushes into overwhelming danger.
As Pāñcāla warriors charge toward Karṇa, he counters with a deadly volley of arrows, killing them swiftly. Sañjaya describes the scene with the image of fire consuming moths that fly into it, emphasizing the speed and inevitability of their downfall.