Shloka 2
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! सब प्रकारसे रथहीन एवं भीमसेनके द्वारा पुनः: पराजित हुए कर्णने दूसरे रथपर बैठकर पाण्डुकुमार भीमसेनको पुनः बींध डाला ।। महागजाविवासाद्य विषाणाग्रै: परस्परम् । शरै: पूर्णायतोत्सूष्टैरन्योन्यमभिजषध्नतु:,जैसे दो विशाल गजराज अपने दाँतोंके अग्रभागोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेसे भिड़ गये हों, उसी प्रकार कर्ण और भीमसेन धनुषको पूर्णतः खींचकर छोड़े गये बाणोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेको चोट पहुँचाने लगे
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! sarvathā rathahīnaḥ punaḥ parājito bhīmasenena karṇaḥ anyasmin rathe samāruhya pāṇḍukumāraṃ bhīmasenaṃ punaḥ vivyādha. mahāgajāvivāsādya viṣāṇāgraiḥ parasparam, śaraiḥ pūrṇāyatotsṛṣṭair anyonyam abhijaghnatuḥ.
Sanjaya said: O King, Karna—left without a chariot and once again defeated by Bhimasena—mounted another chariot and struck Bhima, the son of Pandu, anew. Like two mighty lordly elephants colliding head-on with the tips of their tusks, Karna and Bhima, releasing arrows shot from fully drawn bows, began to wound one another. The scene underscores how, in the fury of war, personal valor and relentless retaliation can eclipse restraint, as each warrior answers injury with injury.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war-ethic of relentless counterstrike among kṣatriyas: even after setback (being chariotless and defeated), a warrior resumes combat. It also implicitly warns how cycles of retaliation intensify violence, as both sides answer harm with harm.
Karna, having been rendered chariotless and beaten back by Bhima, climbs onto another chariot and shoots Bhima again. Then Karna and Bhima exchange volleys of arrows, compared to two massive elephants clashing with their tusks.