Shloka 173
दुःशासनवधः (Duḥśāsana-vadha) — Bhīma’s vow-fulfillment in combat
फलै: पुड्खान् समाजम्मु: सूतपुत्रधनुश्चयुता: । सूतपुत्र कर्णके धनुषसे छूटकर परस्पर गिरते हुए नाना प्रकारके बाण अपने फलोंद्वारा पहलेके गिरे हुए बाणोंके पंखोंमें जुड़ जाते थे
phalaiḥ pūṅkhān samājamya sūtaputra-dhanuścyutāḥ | sūtaputra-karṇake dhanuṣaḥ chūṭitāḥ parasparaṃ patantaḥ nānā-vidhā bāṇāḥ sva-phalaiḥ pūrva-patitānāṃ bāṇānāṃ pūṅkheṣu saṃyujyante sma |
Sañjaya dit : De l’arc de Karṇa, des flèches de toutes sortes furent décochées en succession rapide ; et, par leurs pointes de fer, elles frappaient et s’amarraient aux extrémités empennées des flèches déjà tombées—si serré était l’échange que les hampes semblaient se lier aux hampes. La scène souligne l’élan implacable et impersonnel du combat, où l’adresse et la fureur multiplient les blessures, tandis que chaque guerrier poursuit sur le champ de bataille le devoir qu’il s’est assigné.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare, once unleashed, gains a self-propelling force: skill and intensity can multiply destruction. Ethically, it invites reflection on the heavy cost of kṣatriya conflict even when pursued as ‘duty’—prowess does not lessen the suffering it produces.
Sanjaya describes Karna’s extraordinary archery: arrows shot from his bow fall so thickly that their heads lodge into the feathered ends of arrows already on the ground, making the shafts appear linked together amid the ongoing exchange.