Shloka 326
Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption
छित्त्वा धनूंषि शूराणामार्जुनि: कर्णमार्दयत् । तत्पश्चात् अर्जुनकुमारने सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए झुकी हुई गाँठवाले तीखे भल्लोंद्वारा शूरवीरोंके धनुष काटकर कर्णको सब ओरसे पीड़ा दी
sañjaya uvāca | chittvā dhanūṃṣi śūrāṇām arjuniḥ karṇam ārdhayat |
サञ्जयは語った。勇士たちの弓を断ち切ったのち、アルジュナの子はカルナを激しく圧した。さらに、砥石で研ぎ澄まされ、節の固い鋭い矢を弦に番え、英雄たちの弓を次々と断ち、四方からカルナを苦しめた—戦場のその瞬間を支配するのは慈悲ではなく、容赦なき武技であることを示す光景であった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: decisive action and mastery of weapons are praised in war, even when they cause suffering. It also highlights how tactical superiority—disarming by cutting bows—can be as decisive as direct killing, raising the ethical tension between duty in war and compassion.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s son overwhelming Karṇa: he cuts the bows of surrounding warriors and then, using sharp arrows, repeatedly severs bows and attacks from all sides, causing Karṇa intense distress amid the ongoing combat in Droṇa Parva.