Mahabharata 7.181.21 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 181, Shloka 21
संजय उवाच अन्तर्त्तितं राक्षसेन्द्रं विदित्वा सम्प्राक्रोशन् कुरव: सर्व एव । कं नायं राक्षस: कूटयोधी हन्यात् कर्ण समरे5दृश्यमान:
sañjaya uvāca
antardhitaṃ rākṣasendraṃ viditvā samprākrośan kuravaḥ sarva eva |
kaṃ nāyaṃ rākṣasaḥ kūṭayodhī hanyāt karṇa samare 'dṛśyamānaḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: Majestade, ao saberem que o senhor dos rākṣasas se tornara invisível, todos os guerreiros kuru clamaram em uníssono: “Este rākṣasa ardiloso, que combate com ilusão, se nem sequer é visto no campo, a quem não abaterá? Como não mataria Karṇa na batalha?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare tests dharma not only through violence but through methods: when combat relies on concealment and māyā, opponents perceive it as kūṭayuddha (deceptive fighting), which destabilizes morale and raises ethical anxiety about what counts as ‘fair’ conduct in battle.
Ghaṭotkaca, the Rākṣasa leader fighting for the Pāṇḍavas, becomes invisible. Seeing (or realizing) this, the Kaurava warriors panic and shout that an unseen, trick-fighting Rākṣasa could kill anyone—especially Karṇa—since he cannot be properly confronted.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.