Shloka 12
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
जातरूपमयै: पुडखी: शरांश्वानतपर्वण: । तैलथौतांश्व नाराचान् निर्मुक्तान् पन्नगानिव
jātarūpamayaiḥ puṅkhaiḥ śarān śvānata-parvaṇaḥ | tailadhautāṃś ca nārācān nirmuktān pannagān iva ||
サンジャヤは言った。「黄金色の羽を備え、節は曲がりつつも堅く組まれた矢、そして油で洗ったかのように磨き上げられた重いナーラーチャの矢柄は、放たれると、脱皮する蛇のように見えた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct moral injunction, but its imagery implicitly warns that brilliance of arms and craftsmanship, when driven by anger and rivalry, turns into living terror on the battlefield—highlighting the tragic moral inversion where human agency animates destruction.
Sañjaya is vividly reporting the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing volleys of arrows—gold-feathered and oil-polished nārācas—flying forth and appearing like snakes shedding their skins, emphasizing speed, menace, and the density of missile warfare.