Shloka 34
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
इषुधेर्धनुषश्वैव ज्यायाश्वैवाथ मारिष । बाह्दो: कराभ्यामुरसो वदनप्राणनेत्रत:
iṣudher dhanuṣaś caiva jyāyāś caivātha māriṣa | bāhvor karābhyām uraso vadana-prāṇa-netrataḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai yang mulia, pada saat itu anak panah seakan-akan memancar dari segala penjuru—dari tabung panah dan busur, dari tali busur juga; bahkan dari lengan, tangan, dada, wajah, hembusan nafas, dan mata.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions less as a moral injunction and more as a warning-through-imagery: when warfare escalates beyond restraint, violence appears limitless, as if weapons arise from everywhere. It implicitly contrasts disciplined, dharmic combat with uncontrolled, destructive excess.
Sañjaya describes an overwhelming moment in battle where arrows seem to pour forth not only from weapons like the quiver, bow, and bowstring, but metaphorically from the warrior’s very limbs and senses—arms, hands, chest, face, breath, and eyes—conveying extraordinary intensity and fear.