Shloka 74
साश्वं तु कर्ण सरथं किरीटी समाचिनोद् भारत वत्सदन्तै: । प्रच्छादयामास दिशश्न बाणै: सर्वप्रयत्नात्तपनीयपुड्खै:
sāśvaṁ tu karṇa-sarathaṁ kirīṭī samācinod bhārata vatsadantaiḥ | pracchādayāmāsa diśaś ca bāṇaiḥ sarva-prayatnāt tapanīya-puṅkhaiḥ ||
โอ้ผู้สืบสายภรต! อรชุนผู้สวมมงกุฎได้ระดมศรชื่อ “วัตสดันตะ” จนกัรณะ—พร้อมทั้งม้าและรถศึก—ถูกอัดแน่นด้วยศร แล้วเขาทุ่มกำลังทั้งหมด ยิงศรที่มีขนท้ายดุจทองคำจนปกคลุมทิศทั้งปวง
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma expressed as unwavering effort and mastery in battle: Arjuna applies total resolve and disciplined skill. Ethically, it underscores how duty-driven warfare can still be overwhelming and destructive, reminding the listener that power must be understood within the grave moral weight of Kurukṣetra.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s intense counterattack: he saturates Karṇa, his horses, and his chariot with a named variety of arrows (vatsadanta), and then releases a dense volley of bright, gold-feathered shafts that seem to blanket all directions—signaling dominance in that exchange of combat.