Shloka 8
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena
विजयं च धनु: श्रेष्ठ विधुन्वानो महारथ:
sañjaya uvāca | vijayaṃ ca dhanuḥ-śreṣṭhaṃ vidhunvāno mahārathaḥ | tataḥ mahārathī karṇaḥ svam “vijaya”-nāma śreṣṭhaṃ dhanuḥ kampayitvā dhṛṣṭadyumnasya dhanuḥ viṣadhara-sarpa-sadṛśān viṣailān bāṇān api chittvā | punaḥ krodhaṃ samāviśya nava-bāṇaiḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnam api vyathayat ||
सञ्जय उवाच—महारथः कर्णो विजयाख्यं धनुः श्रेष्ठं विधुन्वन् धृष्टद्युम्नस्य धनुः सशरांश्चाशीविषोपमानान् विषधर-सर्पसदृशान् छित्त्वा पातयामास। अथ क्रोधसमाविष्टः स धृष्टद्युम्नं नवभिः शरैः समताडयद्, व्रणैश्च तम् अकरोत्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill (śaurya and astravidyā) can become ethically perilous when driven by krodha (wrath). In the battlefield setting of kṣatriya-dharma, prowess is expected, yet the narrative also signals the moral cost of anger-fueled escalation—where the aim shifts from contest to crushing the opponent.
Karna, wielding his celebrated bow Vijaya, overwhelms Dhṛṣṭadyumna: he severs Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s bow and cuts down even the venom-like arrows, then in anger shoots Dhṛṣṭadyumna with nine arrows, injuring him.