Shloka 23
तस्मिंस्तु नागे धनुषि प्रयुक्ते हाहाकृता लोकपाला: सशक्रा: । न चापि त॑ बुबुधे सूतपुत्रो बाणे प्रविष्टं योगबलेन नागम्,धनुषपर उस नागका प्रयोग होते ही इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण लोकपाल हाहाकार कर उठे। सूतपुत्रको भी यह मालूम नहीं था कि मेरे इस बाणमें योगबलसे नाग घुसा बैठा है
tasmiṁstu nāge dhanuṣi prayukte hāhākṛtā lokapālāḥ saśakrāḥ | na cāpi taṁ bubudhe sūtaputro bāṇe praviṣṭaṁ yogabalena nāgam ||
Disse Sañjaya: Quando aquele míssil-serpente foi posto no arco e disparado, os guardiões dos mundos—Indra incluído—bradaram em alarme. Contudo, o filho do cocheiro (Karna) nem sequer percebeu que, pela força do poder ióguico, uma serpente entrara e se alojara dentro da flecha.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that outcomes in war are not governed solely by visible skill and intention; unseen forces—divine or yogic—can intervene, making human agency partial and complicating moral judgment about responsibility and fate.
As a serpent-powered missile is set and released from the bow, even Indra and the other world-guardians react with alarm. Karna, however, remains unaware that a serpent has entered and is riding within the arrow through yogic power.