Shloka 84
स रोषपूर्णो मणिवज्रहाटकै- रलड्कृतं तक्षकभोगवर्चसम् | महाधन कार्मुकमन्यदाददे यथा महाहिप्रवरं गिरेस्तटात्,फिर अभ्वत्थामाने रोषमें भरकर मणि, हीरा और सुवर्णसे अलंकृत तथा तक्षकके शरीरकी भाँति अरुण कान्तिवाले दूसरे बहुमूल्य धनुषको हाथमें लिया, मानो पर्वतके किनारेसे विशाल अजगरको उठा लिया हो
sa roṣapūrṇo maṇivajrahāṭakaiḥ alaṅkṛtaṃ takṣakabhogavarcasaṃ | mahādhanaṃ kārmukam anyad ādade yathā mahāhipravaraṃ gires taṭāt |
Filled with wrath, Karṇa seized another exceedingly precious bow, adorned with gems, diamonds, and gold, glowing with a ruddy sheen like the coils of Takṣaka. It was as though he had lifted a mighty, foremost serpent from the ledge of a mountain—an image that heightens the scene’s fierce momentum and the perilous, ethically charged escalation of battle.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how anger intensifies violence: wrath drives the warrior to escalate by taking up an even more formidable weapon. The serpent simile warns that such power, once lifted and unleashed, becomes perilous and difficult to restrain—an ethical reminder about the destructive momentum of rage in war.
In the midst of battle, Karṇa—enraged—grabs a second, extremely valuable bow, richly ornamented and glowing red like Takṣaka’s coils. The poet likens the act to lifting a huge serpent from a mountain ledge, emphasizing both the weapon’s deadly potency and the heightened danger of the moment.