Shloka 34
पुरन्दरार्थ तपसा प्रयत्नतः स्वयं कृतं यद् विभुना स्वयम्भुवा । महार्हरूपं द्विषतां भयंकरं बिभर्तुरत्यर्थसुखं सुगन्धिनम्
purandarārthaṁ tapasā prayatnataḥ svayaṁ kṛtaṁ yad vibhunā svayambhuvā | mahārharūpaṁ dviṣatāṁ bhayaṅkaraṁ bibhartur atyarthasukhaṁ sugandhinam | nāgo mahā… pārthottamājat praharat tarasvī |
Sañjaya said: That divine crown which the self-born Creator (Brahmā), the mighty Lord, had fashioned by austerity and effort for Purandara (Indra)—a most precious diadem, terrifying to enemies, supremely comfortable for its wearer, and fragrant—had been gladly bestowed by Indra himself upon Arjuna, the best of the Pārthas, the diadem-wearer intent on the destruction of the Daityas. Yet that very celestial crown—one that even the lordly gods Śiva, Varuṇa, Indra, and Kubera could not destroy with their finest weapons (Pināka, noose, thunderbolt, and arrows)—was forcibly carried off from Arjuna’s head by Karṇa through a serpent-faced arrow. Thus, the swift Nāga, harboring malice and acting under a false vow, snatched away that wondrous, costly, gold-ornamented crown.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divinely granted protections and honors can be lost when malice and deception enter the field of action; the episode highlights the ethical tension in war—valor is tested not only by strength but by the integrity of means, and hostility (durbhāva) seeks symbolic as well as physical victory.
Sañjaya describes how a celestial crown, created by Brahmā for Indra and later bestowed on Arjuna, is forcibly taken from Arjuna’s head when Karṇa employs a serpent-faced arrow (associated with a Nāga), despite the crown’s famed divine inviolability.