Shloka 22
Arjuna’s Approach, Drona’s Recognition, and the Turning of the Cattle (अर्जुनागमनम्, द्रोणवाक्यम्, गोगमनिवृत्तिः)
अर्जुनको रथसे गिराकर आज मैं दुर्योधनके हृदयमें चिरकालसे चुभे हुए काँटेको जड़सहित निकाल फेंकूँगा ।। हताश्चं विरथं पार्थ पौरुषे पर्यवस्थितम् | निःश्वसन्तं यथा नागमद्य पश्यन्तु कौरवा:,पुरुषार्थसाधनमें लगे हुए अर्जुनके घोड़े मार दिये जायँगे और वह रथहीन होकर केवल साँपकी भाँति फुफकार मारता फिरेगा। कौरवलोग आज उसकी यह अवस्था भी देखें
arjunako rathase girākara ājāhaṁ duryodhanasya hṛdaye cirakālase chubhe hue kāṇṭeko jaḍasahita nikāla pheṅkūṅgā || hataś caṁ virathaṁ pārthaṁ pauruṣe paryavasthitam | niḥśvasantaṁ yathā nāgam adya paśyantu kauravāḥ | puruṣārthasādhane lage hue arjunasya ghoḍe māra diye jāyeṅge, aur sa rathahīnaḥ kevalaṁ sāpakī bhānti phūphkāra mārata phiregā | kauravāḥ adya tasya eṣā avasthā api paśyantu ||
Karna said: “Today I will cast Arjuna down from his chariot and tear out, root and all, the thorn that has long been lodged in Duryodhana’s heart. Let the Kauravas see it today—Arjuna, steadfast in his manly effort, will be left helpless and chariotless; his horses will be slain, and he will roam about hissing like a serpent.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how personal resentment and wounded pride can drive violent vows. Karna frames his attack as removing a ‘thorn’ from Duryodhana’s heart, showing how leaders’ inner anxieties can be weaponized into public conflict; ethically, it warns that valor without restraint becomes cruelty and humiliation of an opponent.
Karna declares a confident threat: he will defeat Arjuna by throwing him from his chariot, killing his horses, and leaving him chariotless—likened to a hissing serpent—so that the Kauravas may witness Arjuna’s humiliation and Duryodhana’s long-standing fear be relieved.