Shloka 21
Kuntī–Sūrya-saṃvāda: Autonomy, Reputation, and the Promise of Karṇa
तस्यासून् पावकस्पर्श: सौमित्रि: पत्त्रिभिस्त्रिभि: । यथा निरहरद् वीरस्तन्मे निगदत: शूणु,वीर सुमित्राकुमारने अग्निके समान दाहक तीन बाणोंद्वारा जिस प्रकार इन्द्रजित॒के प्राण लिये, वह बताता हूँ; सुनो
tasyāsūn pāvakasaṃsparśaḥ saumitriḥ pattribhis tribhiḥ | yathā niraharad vīras tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Listen as I recount how the heroic Saumitri, with three arrows whose touch was like fire, drew out (took away) his life-breath.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights heroic efficacy joined with disciplined narration: extraordinary power (fire-like arrows) is presented not as mere violence but as a purposeful act within a larger moral story, conveyed through an elder’s responsible testimony.
Mārkaṇḍeya introduces a description of how Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa) struck with three fire-like arrows and thereby took away an opponent’s life, asking the listener to attend to the account.