Shloka 25
अध्याय २९: कर्णस्य शल्यं प्रति शापस्मरणं च युद्धनिश्चयः | Chapter 29: Karṇa recalls curses to Śalya and declares resolve for battle
अथ सात्यकिरागत्य कर्ण विद्ध्वा शितै: शरै: । नवत्या नवभिश्नोग्रै: शतेन पुनरार्पयत्
atha sātyakir āgatya karṇaṃ viddhvā śitaiḥ śaraiḥ | navatyā navabhiś cograir śatena punar ārpayat ||
Sañjaya berkata: Maka Sātyaki mara ke hadapan dan, setelah menikam Karṇa dengan anak panah yang tajam, membalasnya sekali lagi—mula-mula dengan sembilan puluh sembilan batang panah yang garang, lalu disusuli dengan genap seratus lagi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya conduct: valor is shown through steadfastness and measured counteraction. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring motif that violence tends to invite further violence, binding warriors into cycles of retaliation.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki advances and wounds Karṇa with sharp arrows, then intensifies the assault—first with ninety-nine fierce arrows and again with a hundred—depicting a rapid, escalating exchange of martial skill.