Shloka 6
Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)
अस्ति वायमिषु: शल्य सुपुड्खो रक्तभोजन: । एकतूणीशय: पत्री सुधौत: समलंकृत:,शल्य! मेरा यह सुन्दर पंखोंसे युक्त बाण शत्रुओंका रक्त पीनेवाला है। यह अकेले ही एक तरकसमें रखा जाता है, जो बहुत ही स्वच्छ, कंकपत्रयुक्त और भलीभाँति अलंकृत है
asti vāyam iṣuḥ śalya supuḍkho raktabhojanaḥ | ekatūṇīśayaḥ patrī sudhautaḥ samalaṅkṛtaḥ ||
Karna berkata: “Wahai Śalya, inilah anak panahku—berbulu kemas dan membawa maut—yang seakan-akan ‘meminum’ darah musuh. Ia disimpan sendirian dalam satu tabung anak panah, bersayap (berbulu), dibersihkan sempurna dan dihias indah.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-code (kṣatriya ethos) where weapons become extensions of vow and identity; ethically, it shows how resolve in war can harden into a celebratory image of violence, revealing the tension between duty in battle and the moral cost of bloodshed.
Karna addresses Śalya and displays/describes a particular arrow—kept alone in a quiver, well-fletched, clean, and ornamented—boasting that it will drink the blood of enemies, thereby asserting confidence and threatening opponents before or during combat.