Shloka 666
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
आदाय कर्ण विव्याध त्रिसप्तत्या नदन् रणे | तदनन्तर पाञ्चालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्नने अपने रथपर बैठकर दूसरा धनुष ले रणक्षेत्रमें गर्जना करते हुए तिहत्तर बाणोंद्वारा कर्णको बींध डाला
sañjaya uvāca | ādāya karṇaṃ vivyādha trisaptatyā nadan raṇe | tadanantaraṃ pāñcālarājakumāro dhṛṣṭadyumno 'pi svam āruhya rathaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ samādāya raṇakṣetre garjan trisaptatyā śarair karṇaṃ vivyādha ||
サンジャヤは言った。「戦場のただ中で咆哮し、彼はカルナを七十三の矢で貫いた。続いてパンチャーラの王子ドリシュタデュムナは自らの戦車に乗り、第二の弓を取り、戦野に雷鳴のごとく轟き渡って、同じく七十三の矢束でカルナを射抜いた――武の決意が執拗に燃え立つさま、技と宿敵の因縁が戦いを駆り立て、しかも大戦は暴力の中でダルマの境界をなお試し続けるのである。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the relentless momentum of war: skill, resolve, and retaliation escalate violence. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya valor and duty expressed through combat, while the broader question of dharma remains strained under the pressures of vengeance and rivalry.
In Sañjaya’s report from the battlefield, Karṇa is struck with seventy-three arrows amid loud battle-cries. Immediately afterward, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince, mounts his chariot, takes another bow, and roars as he pierces Karṇa with seventy-three arrows in return.