Shloka 13
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 54 — Missile-Exchange and Tactical Redirection
Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa
ततः स विद्धों भरतर्षभेण बाणेन गात्रावरणातिगेन । गतासुराजौ निपपात भूमौ नगो नगाग्रादिव वातरुग्ण:
tataḥ sa viddho bharatarṣabheṇa bāṇena gātrāvaraṇātigena | gatāsurājau nipapāta bhūmau nago nagāgrādiva vātarugṇaḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Entonces aquel rey, herido por el toro entre los Bhāratas (Arjuna) con una flecha que atravesó su armadura corporal, perdió el aliento vital y cayó al suelo. Como un árbol de montaña, quebrado por la tormenta, que se precipita desde una cumbre, así se desplomó de su carro sobre el campo de batalla.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of consequences in righteous conflict: when war is joined under dharma, skill and resolve can bring swift, final outcomes. The storm-torn tree simile stresses impermanence of power and the fragility of embodied life before decisive action.
A king is struck by Arjuna’s penetrating arrow that passes through his armor; his life departs and he falls from his chariot onto the battlefield, compared to a great tree blown down from a mountain peak.