Shloka 286
काकोपमोपदेशः
The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa
व्यामोहयत राजानं धरणीं च ददार ह । महाराज! तत्पश्चात् पराक्रमी युधिष्ठिरने उस बाणको क्रोधपूर्वक चला दिया। उस बाणने आपके महारथी पुत्र दुर्योधनको घायल करके उसे मूर्च्छित कर दिया और पृथ्वीको भी विदीर्ण कर डाला
vyāmohayat rājānaṃ dharaṇīṃ ca dadāra ha | mahārāja! tatpaścāt parākrāmī yudhiṣṭhirena taṃ bāṇaṃ krodhapūrvakaṃ calāyitavān | tena bāṇena tava mahārathī putro duryodhanaḥ kṣataḥ saṃmūrcchitaś ca kṛtaḥ pṛthivī cāpi vidīrṇā |
Disse Sañjaya: “Aquele dardo confundiu o rei e chegou a rasgar a terra. Então, ó grande rei, o valente Yudhiṣṭhira, movido pela ira, disparou aquela flecha. Ao atingir teu filho, o grande guerreiro de carro Duryodhana, feriu-o e o lançou ao desmaio, e ainda fendeu o chão.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can momentarily overtake even a generally dharma-oriented figure like Yudhiṣṭhira, intensifying the destructiveness of war; it points to the ethical danger of wrath in decision-making and the far-reaching consequences of violent action.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira, in wrath, releases a powerful arrow that wounds Duryodhana, causes him to faint, and is described hyperbolically as splitting the earth—emphasizing the missile’s force and the battle’s ferocity.