Shloka 34

भीमसेन–कर्णयुद्धवर्णनम्

Description of the Bhīmasena–Karṇa Engagement

Devanagari script

अर्जुन च त्रिसप्तत्या बाणानामाजघान ह,भूरिश्रवाने कुपित होकर श्रीकृष्णका चाबुक काट डाला और अर्जुनको तिहत्तर बाणोंसे गहरी चोट पहुँचायी

Transliteration

arjunaṃ ca trisaptatyā bāṇānām ājaghāna ha; bhūriśravāne kupito bhūtvā śrīkṛṣṇasya cābukaṃ chittvā arjunaṃ ca trisaptatyā bāṇair gāḍhaṃ jaghāna

Translation

サञ्जयは語った――怒りに燃えたブーリシュラヴァは、聖クリシュナの鞭を断ち、ついでアルジュナを七十三本の矢で激しく射抜いた。この出来事は、戦場の憤怒が武人をして敵そのものだけでなく、敵を導く道具にまで刃を向けさせ、暴力を増幅させると同時に、克己と正しい行い（ダルマ）を試すことを示している。

Word by Word

अर्जुनःArjuna

चand

त्रिसप्तत्याwith seventy-three

बाणानाम्of arrows

आजघानstruck/smote

हindeed (emphatic particle)

भूरिश्रवाणेin/at Bhurishravas (i.e., against Bhurishravas)

कुपितःenraged

भूत्वाhaving become

श्रीकृष्णस्यof Shri Krishna

चाबुकम्whip

काटcut (Hindi form; Sanskrit would be अचिनत्/छित्त्वा etc.)

डालाput/did (auxiliary; Hindi form)

अर्जुनम्Arjuna

त्रिसप्तत्याwith seventy-three

बाणैःwith arrows

गहरीdeep/severe

चोटम्wound/blow

अर्पयामासinflicted/bestowed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna

Bhūriśravā

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

whip (cābuka)

arrows (bāṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (krodha) escalates conflict: a warrior’s fury can extend beyond the opponent to the means that guide him (here, the charioteer’s whip), illustrating the ethical pressure on combatants to maintain restraint and right conduct even amid legitimate warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Bhūriśravā, provoked and furious, cuts Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s whip and then wounds Arjuna severely with seventy-three arrows, intensifying the duel and the danger to Arjuna on the battlefield.