Shloka 21
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
पुत्रस्तु तव त॑ दृष्टवा भीमार्जुनपराक्रमम् । गाड़ेयस्य रथाभ्याशमुपजग्मे महाबल:
sañjaya uvāca |
putras tu tava taṁ dṛṣṭvā bhīmārjunaparākramam |
gāṅgeyasya rathābhyāśam upajagme mahābalaḥ ||
ekaikaṁ tribhir ānarccchat kaṅkukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ |
śuśarmāṇaṁ ca kṛpācāryaṁ ca tribhir eva vyadhat ||
prāgjyotiṣanṛpaṁ bhagadattaṁ sindhurājaṁ jayadratham |
citrasenaṁ vikarṇaṁ ca kṛtavarmāṇam eva ca |
durmīṣaṇaṁ tathā vīrau vindānuvindau mahārathau |
etān ekaikaṁ tribhir iṣubhir gṛdhrapakṣopamaiḥ pīḍayām āsa ||
Sañjaya dit : Voyant cette démonstration de puissance de Bhīma et d’Arjuna, ton fils—le puissant Duryodhana—s’avança vers le char de Bhīṣma, fils de la Gaṅgā. Sur le champ, il frappa chacun de trois flèches, empennées comme des ailes de vautour : il perça Śuśarmā et le précepteur Kṛpa de trois traits chacun ; et de même il tourmenta d’une douleur aiguë Bhagadatta, roi de Prāgjyotiṣa, Jayadratha, roi du Sindhu, Citraseṇa, Vikarṇa, Kṛtavarman, Durmīṣaṇa, ainsi que les grands guerriers de char Vinda et Anuvinda—chacun de trois flèches.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how martial pride and fear operate together: even a powerful leader, stirred by the prowess of opponents (Bhīma and Arjuna), seeks proximity to an elder authority (Bhīṣma) while escalating violence. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty (display of valor) and the widening harm that war unleashes.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, seeing Bhīma and Arjuna’s valor, goes near Bhīṣma’s chariot. In the battle he shoots multiple named warriors—Śuśarmā, Kṛpa, Bhagadatta, Jayadratha, Citraseṇa, Vikarṇa, Kṛtavarman, Durmīṣaṇa, Vinda, and Anuvinda—each with three arrows, described as feathered like vulture wings.