Shloka 74
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
कर्णो5पि द्विषतां हन्ता छादयामास फाल्गुनम् | सायकैर्बहुसाहस्रै: कृतप्रतिकृतेप्सया,तब शत्रुहन्ता कर्णने भी उनके किये हुए प्रहारका बदला चुकानेकी इच्छासे अनेक सहस्र बाणोंद्वारा पुन: अर्जुनको आच्छादित कर दिया
karṇo 'pi dviṣatāṃ hantā chādayāmāsa phālgunam | sāyakair bahusāhasraiḥ kṛtapratikṛtepsayā ||
Sañjaya said: Karṇa too—slayer of foes—covered Phālguna (Arjuna) once again with many thousands of arrows, driven by the desire to repay the blows that had been dealt to him. The scene underscores the war’s cycle of retaliation, where prowess is repeatedly yoked to the urge for requital rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the impulse to retaliate (pratikṛti) fuels escalation in conflict: martial excellence becomes an instrument of requital, reminding readers that ethical restraint is hardest precisely when one feels wronged.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, seeking to repay Arjuna’s earlier strikes, showers Arjuna with thousands of arrows, effectively ‘covering’ him in a dense missile barrage during the battle.