Shloka 20
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 19 — Saṃśaptaka–Trigarta Assault and Aindra-astra Counter
एवमुक्तस्तथेत्युक्त्वा प्रहरेति च ताडित: । कर्णिना द्रोणतनयं विव्याध मलयध्वज:,अश्वत्थामाके ऐसा कहनेपर पाण्ड्यनरेश बोले--“अच्छा ऐसा ही होगा। पहले तुम प्रहार करो।' इस प्रकार आक्षेपयुक्त वचन सुनकर अश्वत्थामाने उनपर अपने बाणका प्रहार किया। तब मलयध्वज पाण्ड्यनरेशने कर्णी नामक बाणके द्वारा द्रोणपुत्रको बींध डाला इति श्रीमहाभारते कर्णपर्वणि पाण्ड्यवधे विंशो5ध्याय:
evam uktas tathety uktvā prahareti ca tāḍitaḥ | karṇinā droṇatanayaṁ vivyādha malayadhvajaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Thus addressed, the Pāṇḍya king Malayadhvaja replied, “So be it,” and, stung by the taunting words—“Strike first!”—Aśvatthāmā shot his arrows at him. Then Malayadhvaja pierced Droṇa’s son with a Karṇī arrow. The episode underscores how, in the heat of war, pride and provocation can drive immediate retaliation, even among renowned warriors bound by kṣatriya codes of combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how verbal provocation and wounded honor can precipitate swift violence in war; it implicitly cautions that pride and taunts can override restraint, even within the framework of kṣatriya-dharma.
Malayadhvaja accepts the challenge to let the other strike first; Aśvatthāmā attacks, and Malayadhvaja counters by piercing Aśvatthāmā with a Karṇī arrow.