Shloka 4
द्रोणनिन्दाश्रवणं तथा सात्यकि–पार्षतविवादः
Hearing the reproach of Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Pārṣata dispute
कर्णने बदलेमें झुकी हुई गाँठवाले सौ बाण मारे और शीघ्रतापूर्वक हाथ चलानेवाले वीर योद्धाकी भाँति उसने उनके प्रत्यंचासहित धनुषको भी शीघ्र ही काट दिया ।। ततोडन्यद् धनुरादाय माद्रीपुत्र: प्रतापवान् । कर्ण विव्याध विंशत्या तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्,तदनन्तर प्रतापी माद्रीकुमार सहदेवने दूसरा धनुष हाथमें लेकर कर्णको बीस बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया। वह अद्भुत-सा कार्य हुआ
sañjaya uvāca | karṇena badale meṃ jhukī huī gāṃṭhavāle śata bāṇa māre aura śīghratāpūrvaka hātha calānevāle vīra yoddhā kī bhānti usane unake pratyāṃcā-sahita dhanuṣ ko bhī śīghra hī kāṭa diyā || tato 'nyad dhanur ādāya mādrīputraḥ pratāpavān | karṇaṃ vivyādha viṃśatyā tad adbhutam ivābhavat ||
Sanjaya said: Karna struck back with a hundred arrows—hard-knotted and forceful—and, with the swift precision of a master archer, he quickly severed Sahadeva’s bow along with its bowstring. Then the valiant son of Madri took up another bow and pierced Karna with twenty arrows; it appeared almost wondrous. The passage highlights the relentless momentum of battle and the warrior’s duty to respond with skill and resolve, even amid escalating violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores kshatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: steadfastness, skill, and immediate response under pressure. It also hints at the ethical tension of war—excellence in arms is praised even as the violence escalates, reminding readers that duty and consequence move together in the epic.
Karna retaliates fiercely, shooting a hundred powerful arrows and cutting Sahadeva’s bow along with its string. Sahadeva immediately takes another bow and strikes Karna with twenty arrows, an exchange presented as a display of extraordinary martial prowess.