Shloka 133
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्रतु-प्रवर्तनम् तथा पाण्डवानां निमन्त्रण-प्रतिवचनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Sacrifice Commences and the Pandavas’ Reply to the Invitation
गन्धवज्छितशो भ्यध्नल्लघुत्वात् सूतनन्दन । सूतपुत्र कर्णने अपने हाथोंकी फुर्तीके कारण लोहेके क्षुरप्र, विशिख, भल्ल और वत्सदन्त नामक बाणोंकी वर्षा करके सैकड़ों गन्धर्वोंकी घायल कर दिया
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: gandharvān chinnaśo 'bhyadhnāl laghutvāt sūtanandana; sūtaputraḥ Karṇaḥ svahastaphurtayā lohakṛtān kṣuraprān viśikhān bhallān vatsadantān ca śarān varṣayitvā śataśo gandharvān vyathayām āsa.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O son of the charioteer, by sheer swiftness Karṇa, the charioteer’s son, struck the Gandharvas so that they were cut down. With the quickness of his own hands he showered iron-headed arrows—razor-edged shafts, barbed missiles, broad-headed darts, and the ‘calf-tooth’ type—thereby wounding the Gandharvas by the hundreds.” Ethically, the verse highlights martial prowess and the intensity of armed conflict, where skill and speed become decisive, even as the violence of mass wounding underscores the grave cost of battle.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the kṣatriya ideal of mastery in arms—speed, precision, and resolve—while implicitly reminding the reader that such prowess, when expressed in battle, produces widespread suffering and thus carries moral weight and consequence.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Karṇa, moving with great agility, showers multiple kinds of iron arrows and wounds large numbers of Gandharvas, cutting them down in the course of the fight.