Shloka 37
ततः क्षुरप्रेण सुसंशितेन सुवर्णपुड्खेन हुताग्निवर्चसा । श्रिया ज्वलन्तं ध्वजमुन्ममाथ महारथस्याधिरथे: किरीटी,किरीटधारी अर्जुनने सोनेके पंखवाले और आहुतिसे प्रज्वलित हुई अग्निके समान तेजस्वी उस तीखे क्षुरप्रसे महारथी कर्णके उस ध्वजको नष्ट कर दिया, जो अपनी प्रभासे निरन्तर देदीप्यमान होता रहता था
tataḥ kṣurapreṇa susaṃśitena suvarṇapuḍkhena hutāgnivarcāsā | śriyā jvalantaṃ dhvajam unmamātha mahārathasyādhiratheḥ kirīṭī ||
Sañjaya said: Then the diademed Arjuna, from his chariot, with a razor-edged arrow—well-honed, gold-feathered, and blazing like the sacrificial fire—shattered the banner of the great chariot-warrior Karṇa, a standard that had been continually radiant with splendor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of external splendor—symbols of status like a banner can be destroyed in an instant. In the dharmic frame of the epic, it cautions against overreliance on pride and public honor, and highlights how swiftly fortune turns in war when one is bound to a chosen course of action.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, using a sharp razor-headed arrow with golden fletching and fire-like brilliance, strikes and shatters Karṇa’s radiant battle-standard (dhvaja), a significant symbolic setback for Karṇa amid the chariot duel.