Shloka 30
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
भीम॑ विव्याध दशभि: कड्कपनत्रै: शिलाशितै: । कार्मुकं चास्य चिच्छेद भल्लेन निशितेन च
bhīmaṁ vivyādha daśabhiḥ kaṅkapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ | kārmukaṁ cāsya ciccheda bhallena niśitena ca ||
Sañjaya dit : Il transperça Bhīma de dix flèches, aux plumes semblables à celles du héron et aux pointes aiguisées sur la pierre ; puis, d’un bhalla acéré, à large tête et tranchant comme un rasoir, il trancha aussi l’arc de Bhīma. Le récit souligne la précision impitoyable de l’art guerrier : la vaillance s’éprouve non par les mots, mais par l’aptitude à neutraliser sans hésitation la puissance de l’adversaire.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic: decisive action and technical mastery can neutralize an adversary’s capacity to fight (here, by cutting the bow), showing how power in war often turns on skillful restraint or escalation rather than mere rage.
In Sañjaya’s narration of the Karṇa Parva battle, a warrior strikes Bhīma with ten stone-sharpened, heron-feathered arrows and then severs Bhīma’s bow with a sharp bhalla, temporarily disarming him.