Shloka 13
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
छित्त्वा धनूंषि शूराणां शरांश्व बहुधा रणे । पातयामासतुर्वीरो शिरांसि शतशो नृणाम्,एकैकं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् कड़ुकबर्हिणवाजितै: । उसके बाद सुशर्मा और कृपाचार्यको भी तीन-तीन बाणोंसे बींध डाला। राजेन्द्र! फिर समरांगणमें प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेश भगदत्त, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ, चित्रसेन, विकर्ण, कृतवर्मा, दुर्मीषण तथा महारथी विन्द और अनुविन्द--इनमैंसे प्रत्येकको गीधकी पाँखसे युक्त तीन- तीन बाणोंद्वारा विशेष पीड़ा दी उन दोनों वीरोंने रणक्षेत्रमें सैकड़ों शूरवीर मनुष्योंके धनुष और बाणोंको बारंबार छिन्न- भिन्न करके उनके मस्तकोंको भी काट गिराया
sañjaya uvāca | chittvā dhanūṃṣi śūrāṇāṃ śarāṃś ca bahudhā raṇe | pātayām āsatur vīrau śirāṃsi śataśo nṛṇām | ekaikaṃ tribhir ānarcchet kaḍukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ |
Sañjaya said: In the battle, those two heroes repeatedly cut apart the bows and arrows of the warriors, and caused the heads of men to fall by the hundreds. Then, striking each opponent with three arrows—feathered like a vulture’s wing—they pierced even Śuśarmā and Kṛpācārya with three shafts each. Thereafter, on the field they inflicted special torment, with three such arrows apiece, upon Bhagadatta the king of Prāgjyotiṣa, Jayadratha the king of Sindhu, Citraseṇa, Vikarṇa, Kṛtavarmā, Durmiṣaṇa, and the great chariot-fighters Vinda and Anuvinda—while continuing to shatter weapons and fell combatants in the relentless ethic of kṣatriya warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the kṣatriya ethic of battlefield duty: mastery of arms, steadfastness under danger, and the harsh reciprocity of war. It also implicitly warns that prowess and strategy, when yoked to conflict, produce cascading suffering—weapon-breaking and head-felling are presented as the grim ‘order’ of combat rather than as moral celebration.
Sañjaya describes two leading warriors dominating the fight: they repeatedly sever opponents’ bows and arrows, then strike key named fighters—Śuśarmā, Kṛpācārya, Bhagadatta, Jayadratha, and others—each with three feathered arrows, causing severe pain and continuing to fell many combatants.