Shloka 42
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
तब पुरुजितने एक नाराचद्वारा दुर्मुखपर उसकी दोनों भौंहोंके मध्यभागमें प्रहार किया। उस समय दुर्मुखका मुख मृणालयुक्त कमलके समान सुशोभित हुआ ।। कर्णस्तु केकयान् भ्रातूनू पजच लोहितकध्वजान् । द्रोणायाभिमुखं यातान् शरवर्षैरवारयत्,कर्णने लाल रंगकी ध्वजासे सुशोभित पाँचों भाई केकयराजकुमारोंको द्रोणाचार्यके सम्मुख जाते देख उन्हें बाणोंकी वर्षसे रोक दिया
tataḥ purujitena eka-nārācena durmukhaṃ tasya ubhayor bhruvor madhyabhāge prahṛtaḥ | tasmin kāle durmukhasya mukhaṃ mṛṇāla-yukta-kamala-sadṛśaṃ suśobhitaṃ babhūva || karṇas tu kekayān bhrātṝn pañca lohita-dhvajān droṇāyābhimukhaṃ yātān śara-varṣair avārayat ||
Sañjaya said: Then Purujit struck Durmukha with a single nārāca arrow right between the two eyebrows. At that moment Durmukha’s face appeared like a lotus adorned with pale stalk-fibres—an image that grimly contrasts beauty with the violence of war. Meanwhile Karṇa, seeing the five Kekaya princes—brothers bearing crimson banners—advancing toward Droṇa, checked their advance by showering them with arrows. The passage underscores how, in the frenzy of battle, martial skill and poetic imagery coexist, while warriors act from loyalty to their commanders and factions rather than from personal enmity alone.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of war: refined poetic description sits beside lethal action. Ethically, it points to how warriors act from allegiance and duty to their side and commanders (here, Karṇa defending Droṇa’s front) even as the human cost is starkly present.
Purujit hits the Kaurava warrior Durmukha with a powerful nārāca arrow between the eyebrows. At the same time, Karṇa prevents five Kekaya princes with red banners from advancing toward Droṇa by unleashing a dense shower of arrows.