Shloka 12
शरास्तु कर्णार्जुनबाहुमुक्ता विदार्य नागाश्चमनुष्यदेहान् । प्राणान् निरस्याशु महीं प्रतीयु- महोरगा वासमिवातिताम्रा:
śarās tu karṇārjuna-bāhu-muktā vidārya nāgāṁś ca manuṣya-dehān | prāṇān nirasyāśu mahīṁ pratīyur mahā-uragā vāsaṁ ivātitāmrāḥ ||
Śalya said: “The arrows released from the arms of Karṇa and Arjuna tore through elephants and human bodies alike; swiftly driving out their life-breath, they fell to the earth—like great serpents, their coppery shafts seeming to slip back into their dwelling. Thus the battle’s prowess becomes a grim lesson: when heroism is yoked to wrath, it turns into an impersonal force that strips beings of life without distinction.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: extraordinary skill and valor, when exercised in battle, become a swift and indiscriminate instrument of death. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of martial excellence and the fragility of life.
Śalya describes the intensity of the duel: arrows shot by Karṇa and Arjuna pierce elephants and men, expel their life-breath, and then drop to the ground, compared to great serpents returning to their abode—an image emphasizing both speed and deadly inevitability.