Shloka 13
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
पार्षतं चार्दयामास निश्रेष्ट सर्वमर्मसु । नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्यने क्रोधसे लंबी साँस खींचकर निनश्रेष्ट खड़े हुए धृष्टद्युम्नके सम्पूर्ण मर्मस्थानोंमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। १० ई ।। स हन्यमान: समरे गौतमेन महात्मना,दैवयोगात्तु ते बाणा नापतन् मर्मभेदिन:
sañjaya uvāca | pārṣataṃ cārdhayāmāsa niśreṣṭaḥ sarvamarmasu | nareśvara! tadanantaraṃ śarad-vānaka-putraḥ kṛpācāryaḥ krodhena dīrghaṃ niḥśvasya niśreṣṭaḥ sthitvā dhṛṣṭadyumnasya sampūrṇa-marma-sthāneṣu gāḍhāṃ pīḍāṃ prāpayāmāsa | sa hanyamānaḥ samare gautamena mahātmanā daiva-yogāt tu te bāṇā nāpatan marma-bhedinaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: O king, Kripa—son of Sharadvan—rose up in wrath, drew a long breath, and struck Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata, hard at all his vital points. Yet, though Dhrishtadyumna was being assailed in that battle by the great Gautama (Kripa), by the turn of fate those arrows did not fall as wounders of the vital organs. The scene underscores how, amid human skill and anger, the outcome of violence is still constrained by destiny, and how even a well-aimed assault may be checked by forces beyond the warrior’s control.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when driven by anger and backed by skill, a warrior’s intent does not always determine the result; the verse highlights daiva-yoga (the shaping force of fate) as limiting the efficacy of violence, reminding readers that outcomes in war are not fully under human control.
Kripacharya, son of Sharadvan, fiercely attacks Dhrishtadyumna (son of Prishata), aiming at his vital points; however, by destiny’s turn, the arrows do not land as fatal marma-piercing blows, and Dhrishtadyumna is not decisively felled at that moment.