Shloka 446

Devanagari script

घटोत्कचमतिक्रम्य बिभेद दशभि: शरै: । इससे शीघ्रतापूर्वक हाथ चलानेवाला प्रतापी वीर सूतपुत्र कर्ण अत्यन्त कुपित हो उठा। उसने घटोत्कचका उल्लंघन करके उसे दस बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया

Transliteration

ghaṭotkacam atikramya bibheda daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Overstepping (and pressing past) Ghaṭotkaca, Karṇa pierced him with ten arrows. In the heat of battle, the charioteer’s son—swift-handed and mighty—flared up in wrath and struck Ghaṭotkaca decisively, showing how anger and rivalry can sharpen violence even among renowned warriors.

Word by Word

• घटोत्कचम्: Ghaṭotkaca
• घटोत्कचम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: घटोत्कच
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अतिक्रम्य: having overstepped/passed beyond
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति-क्रम्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• बिभेद: pierced/split
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (agreeing with शरैः), Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Ghaṭotkaca
• Karṇa
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how krodha (anger) intensifies destructive action in war: even a celebrated warrior’s prowess, when driven by rage, becomes a sharper instrument of harm—raising ethical reflection on self-mastery amid duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the battle, Karṇa forces his way past Ghaṭotkaca and wounds him by shooting ten arrows; Sañjaya reports this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra as part of the escalating night-fight involving Ghaṭotkaca.