Shloka 28
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
अथान्यद् धनुरादाय समरे भारसाधनम् | मद्रेश्वरो रणे जिष्णुं ताडयामास रोषित:,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 महाराज! फिर मद्रराजने भी भारसाधनमें समर्थ दूसरा धनुष लेकर रणभूमिमें अर्जुनपर रोषपूर्वक तीन बाणोंद्वारा प्रहार किया। वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्णको पाँच बाणोंसे घायल करके उन्होंने भीमसेनकी भुजाओं तथा छातीमें नौ बाण मारे
athānyad dhanur ādāya samare bhārasādhanam | madreśvaro raṇe jiṣṇuṁ tāḍayāmāsa roṣitaḥ | ekaikaṁ tribhir ānarccchat kaḍukabarhiṇavājitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then the lord of Madra, taking up another bow capable of bearing the strain of battle, angrily struck Arjuna (Jishnu) in the fight. He pierced each opponent with three arrows—shafts fitted with vulture-feathers—displaying the relentless, methodical violence of the battlefield, where wrath and prowess drive warriors to inflict pain and assert dominance rather than seek restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (roṣa) fuels action in war: prowess and duty may operate within a kṣatriya framework, yet wrath intensifies harm. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between necessary martial duty and the destructive momentum of rage.
Sañjaya describes the Madra king (Śalya) taking up another strong bow and, in anger, striking Arjuna in battle, shooting him with three arrows; the description notes the arrows’ vulture-feather fletching and the systematic ‘three-at-a-time’ pattern of attack.