Shloka 48
Adhyāya 65: Dawn Assembly, Makara–Śyena Vyūhas, and Commander Engagements
तस्यावर्जितनागस्य कार्ष्णि: परपुरंजय: । राज्ञो रजतपुड्खेन भल्लेनापाहरच्छिर:
tasyāvarjita-nāgasya kārṣṇiḥ para-puraṁ-jayaḥ | rājño rajata-puḍkhena bhallena apāharac chiraḥ ||
संजय बोले—फिर शत्रु-पुरों को जीतने वाले कार्ष्णि (अभिमन्यु) ने, उस राजा का—जो मरते समय भी अपने हाथी को न छोड़ता था—रजत-पंखों वाले भल्ल बाण से मस्तक काट गिराया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unwavering attachment to a martial stance—here, refusing to abandon one’s war-elephant even when death is imminent—can be read as valor but also becomes a cause of ruin. In the ethical frame of the epic, battlefield prowess operates within kṣatriya-duty, yet the narrative repeatedly warns that pride and fixation harden into self-destructive obstinacy.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment: a warrior called Kārṣṇi, famed for conquering enemy strongholds, strikes a king who would not leave his elephant. With a broad-headed arrow (bhalla) having silver fletching, he severs the king’s head, marking a decisive and brutal turn in the combat.