Shloka 22
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
स पपात तदा भूमौ निकृत्त: पार्थसायकै: । विकीर्ण: पर्वतो राजन् यथा वज्नेण ताडित:
sa papāta tadā bhūmau nikṛttaḥ pārthasāyakaiḥ | vikīrṇaḥ parvato rājan yathā vajreṇa tāḍitaḥ ||
नरेश्वर! पार्थ के बाणों से कटा हुआ वह परिघ उसी समय पृथ्वी पर गिर पड़ा और वज्र से ताड़ित पर्वत की भाँति टूट-फूटकर चारों ओर बिखर गया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic theme that sheer might and terrifying weapons can be rendered powerless when opposed by superior skill and destiny-aligned strength; it also highlights the moral gravity of war, where even formidable instruments of violence are broken and brought low.
Sañjaya describes to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra how a massive club-like weapon (parigha) is cut apart by Arjuna’s arrows and falls to the ground in fragments, compared to a mountain shattered by Indra’s thunderbolt.