Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततः: कर्णो महाराज रोषामर्षसमन्वित:,महाराज! तब रोष और अमर्षमें भरे हुए कर्णने पाण्डुपुत्र भीमसेनपर पचीस नाराचोंका प्रहार किया। साथ ही अन्य बहुत-से बाणोंद्वारा उन्हें घायल कर दिया और एक बाणसे उनकी ध्वजा काट डाली

Transliteration

tataḥ karṇo mahārāja roṣāmarṣa-samanvitaḥ pāṇḍuputra-bhīmasenam pañcaviṃśatyā nārācaiḥ samāhanat | anyaiś ca bahubhiḥ śaraiḥ saṃvraṇayām āsa, ekena ca śareṇa tasya dhvajam acchinat |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Maka Karṇa, wahai Raja, dipenuhi amarah dan maruah yang tercalar, memanah Bhīmasena—putera Pāṇḍu—dengan dua puluh lima anak panah nārāca. Dengan banyak anak panah lain lagi, dia terus melukakannya, dan dengan sebatang anak panah sahaja dia menebas jatuh panji Bhīma.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

कर्णःKarna

महाराजO great king

रोषामर्षसमन्वितःendowed with anger and indignation

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Karna

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Pāṇḍuputra (the Pāṇḍavas, as a collective reference)

nārāca arrows

śara (arrows)

dhvaja (banner/standard)

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 how roṣa (anger) and amarṣa (wounded pride) can drive a warrior to intensified aggression. Ethically, it points to the inner causes that escalate conflict: when honor becomes entangled with resentment, violence expands beyond necessity, even targeting symbols like a banner to break morale.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, enraged, strikes Bhīma with twenty-five powerful nārāca arrows, wounds him further with many other arrows, and then severs Bhīma’s banner with a single shot—an act meant to diminish Bhīma’s battlefield prestige and confidence.