Shloka 363
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
घोरमादत्त विशिखं कर्णकायावदारणम् | कर्णके द्वारा अत्यन्त घायल होकर बलवानोंमें श्रेष्ठ महाधनुर्थर भीमसेनने एक भयंकर बाण हाथमें लिया, जो कर्णके शरीरको विदीर्ण करनेमें समर्थ था
sañjaya uvāca | ghoram ādatta viśikhaṃ karṇa-kāyāvadāraṇam |
Sañjaya said: Then Bhīmasena seized a dreadful arrow, capable of rending Karṇa’s body. Though himself grievously wounded, the mighty archer—foremost among the strong—resolved to answer violence with decisive force, pressing the battle toward its fated moral reckoning.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the battlefield ethic of the epic, a kṣatriya endures injury without abandoning resolve; action is framed as duty and consequence rather than personal comfort. The verse highlights steadfastness under suffering and the grim moral weight of retaliatory force in war.
Sañjaya narrates that Bhīma, though badly wounded, takes up a terrifying arrow specifically capable of tearing Karṇa’s body, signaling an intensified exchange in the Karṇa–Pāṇḍava combat sequence.