Shloka 57
गृह्नात्यनेकानपि कड्कपत्रा- नेक॑ यथा तान् प्रतियोज्य चाशु । ते क्रोशमात्रे निपतन्त्यमोघा: कस्तेन योधो5स्ति सम: पृथिव्याम्,वे कंकपत्रयुक्त अनेक बाणोंको इस प्रकार हाथमें लेते हैं, मानो एक ही बाण हो और उन सबको शीघ्रतापूर्वक धनुषपर रखकर चला देते हैं। वे अभमोघ बाण एक कोस दूर जाकर गिरते हैं; अतः इस पृथ्वीपर उनके समान दूसरा योद्धा कौन है?
gṛhṇāty anekān api kaṅkapatrān anekān yathā tān pratiyojya cāśu | te krośamātre nipatanty amoghāḥ kastena yodho 'sti samaḥ pṛthivyām ||
Karna said: “He takes many arrows, even those feathered with heron-plumes, as though they were a single shaft; and swiftly he fits them to the bow and lets them fly. Those unfailing arrows fall only after a full krośa’s distance. Who on this earth is a warrior equal to him?”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that true martial excellence is marked by disciplined mastery—speed, coordination, and accuracy—so that one’s effort becomes ‘amogha’ (unfailing). In the Mahabharata’s ethical frame, such prowess commands respect and sets a standard by which warriors measure honor and worth.
Karna, speaking in the midst of the war narrative, praises a warrior’s extraordinary archery: he can hold many arrows as if one, rapidly set them on the bow, and shoot them so powerfully and accurately that they travel a krośa before falling—leading Karna to ask who could be his equal on earth.