Shloka 1163

Devanagari script

नाराचां क्रोधताम्राक्ष: प्रैषीन्मृत्युमिवान्तक: । तत्पश्चात्‌ क्रोधसे लाल आँखें किये अर्जुनने बड़ी उतावलीके साथ कर्णको लक्ष्य करके एक नाराच चलाया, मानो यमराजने किसीके लिये मौत भेज दी हो

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nārācān krodha-tāmrākṣaḥ praiṣīn mṛtyum ivāntakaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya said: With eyes reddened by wrath, Arjuna swiftly launched a nārāca at Karṇa—like Antaka (Death) dispatching mortality itself toward its destined victim. The scene underscores how, in the fury of battle, a warrior’s focused intent can resemble the inexorable certainty of death, even as the larger war tests the boundaries of righteous conduct (dharma) amid vengeance and duty.

Word by Word

नाराचान्iron arrows (narācas)

क्रोधताम्राक्षःhe whose eyes are copper-red with anger

प्रैषीत्sent, discharged

मृत्युम्death

इवas if, like

अन्तकःYama, the ender (Death-god)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna

Karṇa

Antaka (Yama/Death)

nārāca (arrow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension of war: intense anger can make a warrior’s action feel like inevitable death itself, reminding readers that even duty-bound combat risks being driven by wrath rather than dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna, his eyes reddened with anger, quickly aims at Karṇa and shoots a powerful nārāca arrow, compared to Death (Antaka) sending mortality toward someone.