Shloka 19
तदनन्तर सम्पूर्ण विश्वके विख्यात धनुर्धर वीर पुरुषसिंह कर्ण और अर्जुन प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर युद्ध करते-करते थक गये। उस समय आकाशमें खड़ी हुई अप्सराओंने दिव्य चँवर डुलाकर उन दोनोंको चन्दनके जलसे सींचा। फिर इन्द्र और सूर्यने अपने कर- कमलोंसे उनके मुँह पोंछे ।।
tadanantaraṃ sampūrṇa-viśvake vikhyāta-dhanurdhara-vīra-puruṣasiṃhaḥ karṇaś cārjunaś ca prāṇānāṃ mohaṃ tyaktvā yuddhaṃ kurvāṇau kurvāṇau śrāntau babhūvatuḥ | tasmin kāle ākāśe sthitā apsarasaḥ divyaiś cāmaraiḥ tāv ubhau candanodakena siñcantyaḥ | punar indraś ca sūryaś ca sva-karakamalaiḥ tayoḥ mukhe parimārjya | karṇo ’tha pārthaṃ na viśeṣayad yadā bhṛśaṃ ca pārthena śarābhitaptaḥ | tatas tu vīraḥ śaravikṣatāṅgo daṣṭre manasā hoḍhaśayasya tasya ||
After that, the world-renowned bowmen—lion-like heroes Karna and Arjuna—casting off all fear for their lives, fought on until they grew weary. Then the apsarases standing in the sky fanned them with divine fly-whisks and sprinkled them with sandal-scented water; and Indra and the Sun themselves wiped their faces with lotus-like hands. But when Karna could not, by any means, outshine Arjuna in prowess and was fiercely scorched by Arjuna’s arrows, his body torn and wounded by shafts, the valiant Karna turned his mind to the strike of that serpent-faced missile.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a righteous-war framework, prowess alone may fail; when a warrior feels outmatched, the temptation is to seek a decisive ‘special’ weapon. The verse highlights how divine forces can sustain fighters, yet human choice—especially under pressure—shapes the ethical direction of the conflict.
Karna and Arjuna fight intensely until both are exhausted. Celestial beings and gods refresh them. Then, as Karna cannot gain the upper hand and is badly wounded by Arjuna’s arrows, he resolves to employ the serpent-faced missile as a turning point in the duel.