Shloka 8
पुत्रके मारे जानेपर क्रोधसे व्याकुलचित्त हुए कर्णने शिनिप्रवर सात्यकिका वध करनेके लिये उनपर एक शत्रु-नाशक बाण छोड़ा और कहा--'सात्यके! अब तू मारा गया” ।। तमस्य चिच्छेद शरं शिखण्डी त्रिभिस्त्रिभिश्व प्रतुतोद कर्णम् । शिखण्डिन: कार्मुकं च ध्वजं च छित्त्वा क्षुराभ्यां न्यपतत् सुजात:,परंतु उसके उस बाणको शिखण्डीने तीन बाणोंद्वारा काट दिया और उसे भी तीन बाणोंसे पीड़ित कर दिया। तब कर्णने दो छुरोंस शिखण्डीकी ध्वजा और धनुष काटकर नीचे गिरा दिये
sañjaya uvāca | putrake māre jāne par krodhase vyākulacitta hue karṇane śinipravara sātyakikā vadha karane ke liye unapar eka śatru-nāśaka bāṇa choḍā aura kahā— “sātyake! aba tvaṁ māraḥ gataḥ” || tam asya ciccheda śaraṁ śikhaṇḍī tribhis tribhiś caiva pratutoda karṇam | śikhaṇḍinaḥ kārmukaṁ ca dhvajaṁ ca chittvā kṣurābhyāṁ nyapatat sujātaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: When his son had been slain, Karṇa—his mind shaken by wrath—shot a foe-destroying arrow at the foremost of the Śinis, Sātyaki, declaring, “Sātyaki, now you are as good as dead!” But Śikhaṇḍī cut down that arrow with three shafts and, with three more, struck Karṇa in return. Then Karṇa, swift and well-born, severed Śikhaṇḍī’s bow and banner with two razor-headed arrows, causing them to fall. The passage highlights how grief and anger intensify violence, while battlefield skill and counteraction rapidly shift advantage without resolving the deeper moral cost of vengeance.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how personal loss can inflame anger and drive one toward destructive retaliation; yet in war, immediate tactical success or failure does not erase the ethical burden of acting from wrath rather than discernment.
After his son’s death, Karṇa shoots a deadly arrow at Sātyaki; Śikhaṇḍī intercepts it with three arrows and strikes Karṇa with three more. Karṇa then retaliates by cutting down Śikhaṇḍī’s bow and banner with two razor-headed arrows.