Shloka 118
एते चरन्ति संग्रामे कर्णचापच्युता: शरा: । भ्रमराणामिव वातास्तापयन्ति सम तावकान्,'ये संग्राममें कर्णके धनुषसे छूटे हुए बाण भ्रमरोंके समूहोंकी भाँति चलते और तुम्हारे योद्धाओंको संतप्त करते हैं
ete caranti saṅgrāme karṇacāpacyutāḥ śarāḥ | bhramarāṇām iva vātās tāpayanti sama tāvakān ||
Sañjaya said: “These arrows, released from Karṇa’s bow, course through the battlefield like gusts amid swarms of bees, scorching and tormenting your warriors on every side.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not present a direct moral injunction; it highlights the intense consequences of martial skill in war—how a single warrior’s prowess can bring widespread suffering. Implicitly, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: valor and effectiveness in battle coexist with the grievous harm inflicted upon living beings.
Sañjaya, reporting the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes Karṇa’s arrows flying across the field. Using a simile of winds amid swarming bees, he conveys their relentless, agitating motion and their burning, tormenting effect on Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s (Kaurava) troops.