Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तत्‌ समीक्ष्य ततः कर्णों ब्रह्मास्त्रेण धनंजयम्‌ | अभ्यवर्षत्‌ पुनर्यत्नमकरोद्‌ रथसर्जने,यह देख कर्णने अर्जुनपर ब्रह्मास्त्रका प्रयोग करके बाणोंकी झड़ी लगा दी और पुनः रथको उठानेका प्रयत्न किया

Transliteration

tat samīkṣya tataḥ karṇo brahmāstreṇa dhanañjayam | abhyavarṣat punar yatnam akarod rathasarjane ||

Translation

ಅದನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ಕರ್ಣನು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಸ್ತ್ರವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಧನಂಜಯನ ಮೇಲೆ ಶರವೃಷ್ಟಿಯನ್ನು ಸುರಿಸಿದನು. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ತನ್ನ ರಥವನ್ನು ಬಿಡಿಸಿ ಎತ್ತುವದಕ್ಕೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿದನು.

Word by Word

तत्that (thing/event)

समीक्ष्यhaving observed/seen

ततःthen/thereupon

कर्णःKarna

ब्रह्मास्त्रेणwith the Brahmā-weapon (Brahmāstra)

धनंजयम्Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

अभ्यवर्षत्rained down (upon)/showered

पुनःagain

यत्नम्effort

अकरोत्made/did

रथ-सर्जनेin/for the lifting (freeing) of the chariot

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Brahmāstra

Ratha (chariot)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of sustained resolve: even amid setbacks (a chariot needing to be freed), a warrior continues his duty with focused effort, combining immediate practical action with the strategic use of powerful resources—raising questions about proportionality and responsibility in deploying supreme weapons.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, after assessing the moment, attacks Arjuna by invoking the Brahmāstra and showering him with arrows, while simultaneously attempting again to extricate and lift his chariot.