Shloka 696

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

शरैर्बहुभिरत्युग्रै: प्रहसन्निव भारत । भारत! उस समय क्रोधमें भरे हुए कर्णने हँसते हुए-से वेगपूर्वक बहुत-से अत्यन्त भयंकर बाण मारकर भीमसेनकी चमकीली ढाल नष्ट कर दी

Transliteration

śarair bahubhir atyugraiḥ prahasann iva bhārata | krodhabhareṇa karṇena vegapūrvakaṃ bahūn atyantabhayānakān bāṇān pramuñcatā bhīmasenasya dīptāṃ cārma-śarmāṃ nāśitām ||

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—अथ भारत, कर्णः क्रोधसमाविष्टः प्रहसन्निव वेगात् बहुभिरत्युग्रैः शरैः भीमसेनस्य दीप्तां ढालं व्यनाशयत्।

Word by Word

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• बहुभिः: with many
• बहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अति-उग्रैः: with exceedingly fierce (ones)
• अति-उग्रैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• प्रहसन्: laughing
• प्रहसन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हस्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra addressed as Bhārata)
• Karṇa
• Bhīmasena
• arrows (śara/bāṇa)
• shield (carman/ḍhāla)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how krodha (anger) can sharpen aggression and spectacle in war—Karṇa ‘seeming to laugh’ while unleashing dreadful arrows. Ethically, it invites reflection on the tension between kṣatriya-duty (fighting skillfully) and the inner discipline needed to prevent anger from becoming the true driver of action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa, enraged, rapidly fires many fierce arrows and breaks Bhīmasena’s shining shield, marking a moment of escalation in their battlefield exchange.