Shloka 6
कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall
Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra
अष्टागवामष्ट शतानि बाणान् मया प्रयुद्धस्य वहन्ति तस्य । तांस्तेन मुक्तानहमस्य बाणै- व्यनाशयं वायुरिवा भ्रजालम्
arjuna uvāca |
aṣṭāgavām aṣṭa śatāni bāṇān mayā prayuddhasya vahanti tasya |
tāṁs tena muktān aham asya bāṇair vyanāśayaṁ vāyur ivā bhrajālam ||
Arjuna berkata: “Di tengah pertempuran, dia melepaskan lapan ratus anak panah ke arahku—laju seolah-olah dibawa oleh lapan ekor kuda. Namun segala batang panah yang dilepaskannya itu aku hancurkan dengan anak panahku sendiri, seperti angin menghamburkan gugusan cahaya yang menyala.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined strength in righteous combat: even when faced with overwhelming force, a warrior must respond with skill and steadiness, neutralizing harm without losing composure—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma in the epic’s battlefield ethics.
Arjuna reports that his opponent shot a massive volley of eight hundred arrows at him, but Arjuna countered by cutting down or destroying those incoming shafts with his own arrows, likening the act to wind dispersing a blazing mass of light.