Shloka 33
व्यालास्त्रसर्गोत्तमयत्नमन्युभि: शरेण मूर्थ्न: प्रजहार सूतज: । दिवाकरेन्दुज्वलनप्रभव्विषं सुवर्णमुक्तामणिवज्रभूषितम्
sañjaya uvāca |
vyālāstrasargottama-yatnam anyubhiḥ śareṇa mūrdhnaḥ prajahāra sūtajaḥ |
divākarendu-jvalana-prabhāva-viṣaṃ suvarṇa-muktā-maṇi-vajra-bhūṣitam ||
Sañjaya said: With a single arrow—shot with the finest effort and driven by wrath, as in the discharge of a serpent-weapon—Karna, the charioteer’s son, struck down from Arjuna’s head his crown, radiant like the sun, the moon, and fire, and adorned with gold, pearls, gems, and diamonds. The moment shows how, in war, prowess and anger can combine to produce dazzling feats that humiliate an opponent without yet settling the deeper question of righteousness (dharma).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill, when fueled by anger, can achieve spectacular results in battle—yet such triumphs are ethically ambiguous: they display power and can shame an opponent, but they do not by themselves establish dharma or moral superiority.
Sanjaya describes Karna releasing an arrow with supreme effort and wrath, likened to a serpent-weapon’s discharge, and knocking Arjuna’s radiant, jewel-studded crown from his head—an emphatic display of Karna’s martial prowess.