Shloka 85
छिन्ने शरे सर्पमुखे च घोरे पार्थेन तस्मिन् विषसाद कर्ण: । अमृष्यमाणो व्यसनानि तानि हस्तौ विधुन्वन् स विगर्हमाण:
chinne śare sarpamukhe ca ghore pārthena tasmin viṣasāda karṇaḥ | amṛṣyamāṇo vyasanāni tāni hastau vidhunvan sa vigarhamāṇaḥ ||
When that dreadful, serpent-faced arrow was cut down by Pārtha (Arjuna), Karṇa sank into dejection. Unable to endure those accumulating calamities, he shook his hands in agitation and began to speak in blame—censuring dharma itself.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical fault-line in crisis: when misfortunes pile up, a warrior may lose steadiness and begin to blame dharma itself. The implied lesson is that true adherence to dharma is tested precisely under adversity; despair and reproach do not restore right order, but self-mastery and discernment do.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna cuts down Karna’s terrifying serpent-faced missile. This reversal, amid other setbacks, overwhelms Karna; he becomes dejected, gestures in agitation, and begins to speak in a reproachful manner—interpreted in context as censuring dharma/fate for his predicament.