Shloka 17
नरेश्वर! शत्रुविजयी अर्जुन भौंहें टेढ़ी करके कटाक्षपूर्वक देखते हुए कर्णपर जिन-जिन बाणोंका प्रहार करते थे, पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके चलाये हुए उन सभी बाणसमूहोंको सूतपुत्र कर्ण शीघ्र ही नष्ट कर देता था ।।
nareśvara! śatruvijayī arjuna bhauṁheṁ ṭeṛhī karke kaṭākṣapūrvaka dekhate hue karṇapara jin-jin bāṇoṁkā prahāra karate the, pāṇḍuputra arjunake calāye hue un sabhī bāṇasamūhoṁko sūtaputra karṇa śīghra hī naṣṭa kara detā thā || tato 'stram āgneyam amitrāsahanaṁ mumoca karṇāya mahendrasūnuḥ | bhūmyantarikṣe ca diśo 'rkamārgaṁ prāvṛtya deho 'sya babhūva dīptaḥ ||
Disse Sañjaya: Ó rei, Arjuna—vencedor de inimigos—de sobrancelhas cerradas e olhar oblíquo e cortante, continuava a atingir Karṇa com saraivadas de flechas; mas Karṇa, o filho do cocheiro, destruía depressa cada feixe de dardos lançado pelo filho de Pāṇḍu. Então Arjuna, filho de Indra, descarregou contra Karṇa a arma Agneya, esmagadora de inimigos. Ela se espalhou pela terra e pelo céu intermédio, cobriu as direções e até o caminho do sol, e sua forma em chamas irrompeu em fulgor feroz.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical tension of war: even unmatched personal skill (Karṇa neutralizing volleys) can be met by escalating force through divine weapons. It implicitly raises the kṣatriya dilemma—how far one may intensify violence to fulfill duty—suggesting that power must be weighed against the wider consequences of unleashing overwhelming astras.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna repeatedly attacks Karṇa with arrow volleys, but Karṇa quickly destroys them. In response, Arjuna deploys the Agneya Astra, whose fiery manifestation spreads across earth and sky, covering the directions and the sun’s path with blazing radiance.