Shloka 38
सुपुष्पितो वृक्षवरो5तिकायो वातेरित: शाल इवाद्रिशृज्भात् । अर्जुनके बाणोंसे आहत हो बाहु और मस्तकसे रहित होकर वृषसेन उसी प्रकार रथसे नीचे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा, जैसे सुन्दर फूलोंसे भरा हुआ श्रेष्ठ एवं विशाल शालवृक्ष हवाके झोंके खाकर पर्वतशिखरसे नीचे जा गिरा हो ।। सम्प्रेक्ष्य बाणाभिहतं पतन्तं रथात् सुतं सूतज: क्षिप्रकारी
supūṣpito vṛkṣavaro'tikāyo vāteritaḥ śāla ivādriśṛṅgāt | arjunakair bāṇair āhato bāhu-mastaka-rahitaḥ vṛṣasenaḥ tathā rathād avaniṃ papāta, yathā sundara-puṣpa-bhṛtaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ viśālaḥ śāla-vṛkṣo vāyu-vegena parvata-śikhār nīcair nipatet || samprekṣya bāṇābhihataṃ patantaṃ rathāt sutaṃ sūtajaḥ kṣipra-kārī ||
Sañjaya said: Struck by Arjuna’s arrows, Vṛṣasena—shorn of arm and head—fell from his chariot onto the earth, like a magnificent, towering śāla tree laden with beautiful blossoms, toppled by a gust of wind from a mountain peak. Seeing his son thus pierced by arrows and falling from the chariot, the charioteer’s son (Karna), swift to act, responded at once.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark moral weight of war: even the mighty fall suddenly, and victory is inseparable from loss. The vivid simile of a flowering tree collapsing highlights impermanence and the tragic cost borne by families, reminding readers that martial prowess does not shield one from the consequences of violence.
Arjuna’s arrows strike Vṛṣasena so severely that he falls from his chariot, compared to a great flowering śāla tree blown down from a mountain peak. Karna, described as swift to act, sees his son falling and immediately prepares to respond.