Shloka 51
क्षिप्ता55 भ्राम्प शरै: सापि कर्णेनाभ्याहतापतत् । तब कुपित हुए घटोत्कचने सोनेके कड़ेसे विभूषित गदा घुमाकर चलायी, किंतु कर्णके बाणोंसे आहत होकर वह भी नीचे गिर पड़ी ।। ५० इ || ततोअन्तरिक्षमुत्पत्य कालमेघ इवोन्नदन्
kṣiptā bhīmapaśaraiḥ sāpi karṇenābhyāhatāpatat | tato 'ntarikṣam utpatya kālamegha ivonnadan ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down by Karṇa’s fierce arrows, that weapon too—though hurled with force—fell to the ground. Then Ghaṭotkaca sprang up into the sky, roaring like a dark, thunder-laden cloud. The scene underscores how, in war, even great strength and resolve can be checked by superior skill, and how wrath, when ungoverned, rises again seeking renewed violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the instability of power in battle: even a forcefully launched weapon can be neutralized by superior counteraction. Ethically, it points to how anger and retaliation perpetuate violence—after a setback, wrath rises again rather than settling into restraint.
Karṇa’s arrows strike the hurled weapon so that it falls. Immediately after, Ghaṭotkaca leaps into the sky and roars like a dark thundercloud, signaling renewed aggression and an escalation of the duel.