Shloka 4
Karṇa’s Camp-Council Discourse: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament, Sañjaya’s Counsel, and Karṇa’s Request for Śalya
Book 8, Chapter 22
सहदेवस्ततो राजन् नाराचेन तवात्मजम् | विद्ध्वा विव्याध सप्तत्या सारथिं च त्रिभि: शरै:
saḥdevastato rājan nārācena tavātmajam | viddhvā vivyādha saptatyā sārathiṃ ca tribhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Kemudian, wahai Raja, Sahadeva memanah putera tuanku dengan sebuah nārāca (anak panah besi yang berat). Setelah menembusinya, dia terus memindahkannya lagi dengan tujuh puluh anak panah, dan dia juga mencederakan sais keretanya dengan tiga batang anak panah.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of dharma in wartime: martial excellence and duty-driven resolve can manifest as precise, escalating force, yet the ethical tension remains—victory is pursued through violence against one’s own kin-group, revealing the tragedy embedded in the Kurukṣetra conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Sahadeva wounds the king’s son with a heavy nārāca arrow, then showers him with seventy more arrows, and also strikes the charioteer with three arrows—depicting a decisive, overpowering assault in the battle.