Shloka 103

Devanagari script

ततो<ग्निसदृशं घोरं शरं सर्पविषोपमम्‌ | अश्मसारमयं दिव्यमभिमन्त्रय परंतप:,तब शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले अर्जुनने अग्नि और सर्पविषके समान भयंकर लोहमय दिव्य बाणको अभिमन्त्रित करके उसमें रौद्रासत्रका आधान किया और उसे कर्णपर छोड़नेका विचार किया। नरेश्वर! इतनेहीमें पृथ्वीने राधापुत्र कर्णके पहियेको ग्रस लिया

Transliteration

tato 'gnisadṛśaṃ ghoraṃ śaraṃ sarpaviṣopamam | aśmasāramayaṃ divyam abhimantrya parantapaḥ |

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Então Arjuna, o flagelo dos inimigos, consagrou uma flecha divina—terrível, ardente como o fogo e mortal como o veneno de serpente, dura como o diamante—e, após imbuí-la com o feroz projétil celeste Raudra, resolveu dispará-la contra Karṇa. Ó rei, naquele exato momento, a terra agarrou e engoliu a roda do carro de Karṇa, filho de Rādhā.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tataḥ', 'definition': 'then

• thereafter'}, {'term': 'agnisadṛśam', 'definition': 'like fire

• fire-like'}, {'term': 'ghoram', 'definition': 'terrible

• fearsome'}, {'term': 'śaram', 'definition': 'arrow'}, {'term': 'sarpaviṣopamam', 'definition': 'comparable to serpent-venom

• as deadly as snake poison'}, {'term': 'aśmasāramayam', 'definition': 'made of aśmasāra (adamantine/stone-essence

• extremely hard substance)'}, {'term': 'divyam', 'definition': 'divine

• celestial'}, {'term': 'abhimantrya', 'definition': 'having invoked (mantras) over

• having consecrated/enchanted'}, {'term': 'parantapaḥ', 'definition': 'scorcher of foes (epithet of Arjuna)'}, {'term': 'raudrāstra', 'definition': 'the Rudra/Śiva missile

• a fierce divine weapon'}, {'term': 'pṛthivī', 'definition': 'the earth (as a power/personified force)'}, {'term': 'rādhāputraḥ', 'definition': 'son of Rādhā (epithet of Karṇa)'}, {'term': 'cakra/pahiya', 'definition': 'wheel (of the chariot)'}, {'term': 'gras', 'definition': 'to seize, swallow, engulf'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Karṇa (Rādhāputra)
• Pṛthivī (Earth, personified)
• Śara (divine arrow)
• Raudrāstra (Rudra weapon)
• Chariot wheel

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, human prowess and even divine weapons operate within a larger moral-causal order: decisive moments can turn on forces beyond immediate control, suggesting the interplay of karma, destiny, and the ethical weight of prior actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna prepares and empowers a terrifying divine arrow (linked with the fierce Rudra weapon) to strike Karṇa; at that critical instant, the earth grips Karṇa’s chariot wheel, immobilizing him and setting the stage for the climactic, morally fraught confrontation.