Shloka 1236
Somadatta’s Kṣātra-Dharma Accusation; Night Combat, Māyā, and the Fall of Ghaṭotkaca
Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 131
चुकोप बलदद्दीरश्षिक्षेपास्प शिलाशितान् । वीर भीमसेन भी अपने सामने कर्णको खड़ा देख अत्यन्त कुपित हो उठे और तुरंत ही उसके ऊपर सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए बाण बलपूर्वक छोड़ने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | cukopa baladaddhīraḥ śikṣepāspa-śilāśitān | vīraḥ bhīmasenaḥ bhīḥ api purataḥ karṇaṃ sthitaṃ dṛṣṭvā atyantaṃ kupito 'bhavat, tataḥ śāṇopacāritān tīkṣṇīkṛtān bāṇān balapūrvakaṃ tasya upari mumoca |
Sañjaya said: Seeing Karṇa standing before him, the heroic Bhīmasena flared up in fierce wrath. At once he began to hurl, with great force, arrows that had been sharpened on the whetstone—an escalation of the duel’s violence in the relentless ethic of battlefield retaliation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) rapidly intensifies conflict: once wrath takes hold, a warrior’s response becomes immediate and forceful. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, even within kṣatriya-dharma, unchecked rage is shown as a catalyst that escalates violence and narrows discernment.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, seeing Karṇa directly before him, becomes extremely enraged and promptly shoots powerful, whetstone-sharpened arrows at Karṇa, signaling a fierce exchange in the ongoing battle.