Shloka 1
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
््ज-्अ ्ःः बछ। जज :अ पजञ्चदशो<् ध्याय: अश्वत्थामा और भीमसेनका अदभुत युद्ध तथा दोनोंका मूर्च्छित हो जाना संजय उवाच भीमसेनं ततो द्रौणी राजन् विव्याध पत्रिणा । परया त्वरया युक्तो दर्शयन्नस्त्रलाघवम्,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर द्रोणकुमार अश्वत्थामाने बड़ी उतावलीके साथ अस्त्र चलानेमें अपनी फुर्ती दिखाते हुए एक बाणसे भीमसेनको बींध डाला
sañjaya uvāca | bhīmasenaṃ tato drauṇī rājan vivyādha patriṇā | parayā tvarayā yukto darśayann astralāghavam |
Sañjaya said: O King, thereafter Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāmā), driven by intense haste and displaying his swift mastery in the use of weapons, pierced Bhīmasena with a single arrow. The scene underscores the relentless momentum of battle, where prowess and urgency surge forward even as the moral weight of fratricidal war continues to deepen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, technical brilliance and speed (astralāghava, tvarā) can dominate the moment; yet the narrative frame—Sañjaya reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra—keeps attention on the grave ethical cost of a conflict where kin strike kin.
After the battle sequence turns to Aśvatthāmā’s engagement, he rapidly demonstrates his weapon-skill and wounds Bhīma by piercing him with an arrow.