Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तस्य कर्णो धनुश्छित्त्वा स्वर्णपुडुखै: शिलाशितै: । त्रिंशता परमेष्वास: शरै: पाण्डवमार्दयत्‌,तब महाथधनुर्धर कर्णने शिलापर तेज किये हुए स्वर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंसे नकुलके धनुषको काटकर उन्हें तीस बाणोंसे पीड़ित कर दिया

Transliteration

tasya karṇo dhanuś chittvā svarṇapuṅkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ | triṃśatā parameṣvāsaḥ śaraiḥ pāṇḍavam ārdayat ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Karṇa, pemanah tertinggi, memotong busur lawannya dengan anak panah yang diasah di batu dan berhiaskan bulu keemasan; lalu dengan tiga puluh batang panah ia menghantam dan menekan sang Pāṇḍava (Nakula).

Word by Word

तस्यof him/thereof

कर्णःKarna

धनुःbow

छित्त्वाhaving cut

स्वर्णपुङ्खैःwith gold-feathered (arrows)

शिलाशितैःwith stone-whetted/sharpened (arrows)

त्रिंशताwith thirty

परमेष्वासःthe supreme archer

शरैःwith arrows

पाण्डवम्the Pandava (here: Nakula, per context)

आर्दयत्afflicted/tormented

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karna

Nakula (implied by context as the Pāṇḍava targeted)

bow (dhanuḥ)

arrows (śara)

golden fletching (svarṇapuṅkha)

stone-whetted arrowheads (śilāśita)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: mastery of skill, decisive action, and unwavering resolve. Ethically, it reflects the epic’s realism—war rewards precision and initiative, while the narrator (Sañjaya) frames events without moralizing, leaving judgment to the broader dharma-discourse of the Mahābhārata.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna breaks his opponent’s bow using sharp, golden-fletched arrows and immediately follows up by striking the Pāṇḍava (understood here as Nakula) with thirty arrows, intensifying the pressure and demonstrating tactical dominance.