Shloka 14
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena
तस्य कर्णो महाराज शरं कनकभूषणम् | प्रेषयामास संक्रुद्धों मृत्युदण्डमिवापरम्,महाराज! तब कर्णने अत्यन्त कुपित हो धृष्टद्युम्नपर द्वितीय मृत्युदण्डके समान एक सुवर्ण- भूषित बाण चलाया
tasya karṇo mahārāja śaraṃ kanakabhūṣaṇam | preṣayāmāsa saṃkruddho mṛtyudaṇḍam ivāparam ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, alors Karṇa, embrasé de colère, lança contre lui une flèche ornée d’or—comme un second bâton de la Mort elle-même, Yama. Le vers en accroît la gravité morale : la fureur change l’art guerrier en instrument de châtiment, et la violence s’en trouve redoublée.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns, through stark metaphor, how anger (saṃkruddha) can transform prowess into near-inevitable destruction—‘like Death’s rod’—highlighting the ethical peril of wrath in righteous conduct and warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, furious, shoots a gold-adorned arrow at his opponent, described as a second ‘rod of Death,’ emphasizing the lethal intensity of the moment in battle.