Shloka 10
कर्णपुत्रवधः (The Fall of Vṛṣasena) — Karṇa Parva, Adhyāya 62
तथैव तौ प्रत्यविध्यत् सूतपुत्र: प्रतापवान् | भल्लाभ्यां शितधाराभ्यां महात्मानावरिंदमौ,इसी प्रकार प्रतापी सूतपुत्रने भी तेज धारवाले दो भल्लोंद्वारा शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले उन दोनों महामनस्वी वीरोंको घायल कर दिया
tathaiva tau pratyavidhyat sūtaputraḥ pratāpavān | bhallābhyāṃ śitadhārābhyāṃ mahātmānāvarindamau ||
Sañjaya said: In the same manner, the valiant son of the charioteer struck back and pierced those two great-souled, foe-subduing warriors with a pair of razor-edged bhalla arrows. The exchange reflects the relentless reciprocity of battle—prowess answering prowess—where martial skill, rather than moral deliberation, drives the immediate course of events.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield principle of immediate reciprocity: an attack is met with a counterattack. Ethically, it underscores how, in war, skill and resolve often govern the moment, while the larger questions of dharma and consequence unfold across the broader narrative.
Sañjaya narrates that Karṇa, described as the powerful sūtaputra, retaliates by piercing two opposing heroic warriors with two sharp bhalla arrows, wounding them in the ongoing combat exchange.