Shloka 326
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
सुपर्णवेगैर्विव्याध सारथिं चास्य सप्तभि: । तब भीमसेनने भी प्रयत्नपूर्वक गरुड़के समान वेगशाली तीन बाणोंद्वारा सूतपुत्र कर्णको तथा सात बाणोंसे उसके सारथिको भी घायल कर दिया
suparṇavegair vivyādha sārathiṁ cāsya saptabhiḥ |
Sañjaya said: With arrows swift as Garuḍa’s flight, Bhīmasena struck Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, and with seven shafts he also wounded Karṇa’s charioteer. The episode underscores the relentless precision of battle, where prowess and resolve drive warriors to target both the champion and the support that sustains him, tightening the moral pressure of war’s escalating violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war tests dharma through escalating tactics: striking not only the principal warrior but also his charioteer shows the harsh logic of battlefield advantage, raising ethical tension between necessity in combat and compassion.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīmasena shoots Karṇa with extremely swift arrows and then wounds Karṇa’s charioteer with seven arrows, intensifying the duel by impairing both the fighter and the driver who controls the chariot.