Shloka 82
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
अनयत् प्रेतलोकाय चतुर्भि: श्वेतवाहन: । सारथिं चास्य भल्लेन रथनीडादपातयत्,राजन्! इसी समय कर्णका वह पराक्रम देखकर श्वेतवाहन अर्जुनने कानतक खींचकर छोड़े हुए चार बाणोंद्वारा कर्णके चारों घोड़ोंको प्रेततोक पहुँचा दिया और एक भल्ल मारकर उसके सारथिको रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया
anayāt pretalokāya caturbhiḥ śvetavāhanaḥ | sārathiṃ cāsya bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat, rājan |
Sañjaya dit : Alors Arjuna, Śvetavāhana, envoya les quatre chevaux de Karṇa au monde des morts par quatre flèches ; et d’un bhalla acéré il fit tomber le cocher de Karṇa du siège du char, ô roi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war governed by kṣatriya-dharma, disabling an opponent’s mobility and command structure can be a decisive act. It reflects the harsh moral landscape of battle where skill and strategy are exercised within the accepted norms of combat, even as the outcome is death and irreversible loss.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna (called Śvetavāhana) shoots four arrows to kill Karṇa’s four horses, sending them to the realm of the dead, and then strikes Karṇa’s charioteer with a bhalla, knocking him down from the chariot-seat—thereby crippling Karṇa’s chariot in the midst of combat.