Shloka 453

Devanagari script

घोरे शरान्धकारे तु कण्णस्त्रि च विजृम्भिते । कर्णका अस्त्र जब वेगपूर्वक बढ़ने लगा तो वहाँ बाणोंसे घोर अन्धकार छा गया। उसमें अपने और शत्रुपक्षके योद्धा परस्पर पहचाने नहीं जाते थे

Transliteration

ghore śarāndhakāre tu karṇāstre ca vijṛmbhite |

Translation

Sanjaya said: When Karna’s weapon—his astric discharge—burst forth with full force, a dreadful darkness made of arrows spread over the battlefield. In that blinding storm, warriors on both sides could no longer clearly recognize their own men from the enemy.

Word by Word

घोरेin the terrible

शर-अन्धकारेin the darkness of arrows

तुbut/indeed

कर्ण-अस्त्रेin/at Karna's weapon (missile)

चand

विजृम्भितेexpanded/spread forth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

astra (divine missile/weapon)

arrows (śara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical warning: when warfare escalates through overwhelming force (especially astras), human judgment and discrimination collapse, increasing the risk of indiscriminate harm—an implicit critique of violence that exceeds moral and practical control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Karṇa unleashing an astra so intensely that the battlefield becomes shrouded in an arrow-made darkness, preventing fighters from recognizing allies and enemies amid the chaos.