Shloka 45
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 19 — Saṃśaptaka–Trigarta Assault and Aindra-astra Counter
ततः प्रजज्वाल परेण मन्युना पादाहतो नागपतिर्यथा तथा । समाददे चान्तकदण्डसंनिभा- निषूनमित्रार्तिकरां क्षतुर्दश
tataḥ prajajvāla pareṇa manyunā pādāhato nāgapatir yathā tathā | samādade cāntakadaṇḍasaṁnibhān niśūnamitrārtikarān kṣaturdaśa ||
Disse Sañjaya: Então, ferido por uma fúria suprema—como o rei das serpentes quando é atingido por um pé—ele inflamou-se de pronto. Em seguida tomou catorze flechas, terríveis em seu poder como a vara de Yama, decidido a atormentar e destruir o exército inimigo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how humiliation or injury can rapidly inflame anger, and how anger in a battlefield context tends to translate immediately into destructive action. Ethically, it warns that unchecked wrath becomes a driver of cruelty, even when framed as martial retaliation.
Sañjaya describes a warrior (contextually, Aśvatthāmā in the surrounding narration) flaring up in intense rage, compared to a Nāga-king struck by a foot, and then taking up fourteen deadly arrows likened to Yama’s rod, ready to inflict suffering on enemies.