Shloka 253
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
भीम प्रैक्षत राधेयो घोरं घोरेण चक्षुषा । उस समय राधानन्दन कर्णने कुपित हो अपने सुवर्णभूषित विशाल धनुषकी टंकार करते हुए भयानक भीमसेनको घोर दृष्टिसे देखा
bhīmaṃ praikṣata rādheyo ghoraṃ ghoreṇa cakṣuṣā |
Sañjaya said: Karṇa, the son of Rādhā, burning with anger, fixed his dreadful gaze upon the fearsome Bhīmasena—his great bow, adorned with gold, resounding with a menacing twang. The verse highlights how wrath and martial pride intensify the violence of the battlefield, as perception itself becomes weaponized through a hostile, dehumanizing stare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how anger (krodha) distorts perception and escalates conflict: the warrior’s gaze becomes 'ghora'—a sign that inner agitation fuels outer violence. It implicitly warns that unchecked wrath and pride can harden one’s vision of the other into an enemy-object, intensifying adharma on the battlefield.
Sañjaya narrates that Karṇa (Rādheya), enraged, stares fiercely at Bhīmasena. The accompanying detail—his large, gold-adorned bow sounding with a threatening twang—signals Karṇa’s readiness to engage Bhīma in a heightened moment of combat.