Shloka 12
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
जातरूपमयै: पुडखी: शरांश्वानतपर्वण: । तैलथौतांश्व नाराचान् निर्मुक्तान् पन्नगानिव,'सुवर्णमय पंखोंसे युक्त झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाण तथा तेलमें धोये हुए नाराच केंचुल छोड़कर निकले हुए सर्पोके समान दिखायी दे रहे हैं
jātarūpamayaiḥ puṅkhaiḥ śarān śvānata-parvaṇaḥ | tailadhautāṃś ca nārācān nirmuktān pannagān iva ||
Sañjaya said: “Arrows fitted with golden-hued feathers, their joints bent and well-knit, and heavy nārāca shafts—polished as though washed in oil—when released, appeared like serpents casting off their slough.” In the ethical atmosphere of the war, the verse heightens the sense of relentless, almost living violence unleashed by human will, underscoring how martial skill and splendid weaponry can become instruments of destruction when dharma has been eclipsed by wrath and rivalry.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct moral injunction, but its imagery implicitly warns that brilliance of arms and craftsmanship, when driven by anger and rivalry, turns into living terror on the battlefield—highlighting the tragic moral inversion where human agency animates destruction.
Sañjaya is vividly reporting the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing volleys of arrows—gold-feathered and oil-polished nārācas—flying forth and appearing like snakes shedding their skins, emphasizing speed, menace, and the density of missile warfare.