Shloka 373
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
कर्ण: प्राच्छादयत् क्रुद्धों भीमं सायकवृष्टिभि: । क्रोधमें भरे हुए कर्णने अपने बाणोंकी वर्षासे भीमसेनको उसी प्रकार आच्छादित कर दिया, जैसे बादल जलकी धाराओंसे पर्वतको ढक देता है
sañjaya uvāca | karṇaḥ prācchādayat kruddho bhīmaṃ sāyakavṛṣṭibhiḥ |
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Karṇa covered Bhīma with a shower of arrows, overwhelming him as a rain-laden cloud veils a mountain with streaming downpours. The scene underscores how wrath in battle turns prowess into a relentless, almost natural force—powerful, yet ethically perilous when driven by anger rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the destructive momentum of krodha (wrath): when anger governs action, skill becomes an overwhelming force. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical lens, martial excellence is not praised in isolation; it is weighed against inner restraint and the moral quality of one’s intent.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa, furious in the thick of battle, unleashing such a dense volley of arrows that Bhīma is ‘covered’ by them—an image likened to a mountain being hidden by sheets of rain from a cloud.