Shloka 17
Karṇa’s Camp-Council Discourse: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament, Sañjaya’s Counsel, and Karṇa’s Request for Śalya
Book 8, Chapter 22
ततः क्रुद्धो महाराज सहदेव: प्रतापवान् | समाधत्त शरं घोर मृत्युकालान्तकोपमम्
tataḥ kruddho mahārāja sahadevaḥ pratāpavān | samādhatta śaraṃ ghoraṃ mṛtyukālāntakopamam ||
Sañjaya nói: Khi ấy, ôi Đại vương, Sahadeva đầy oai lực bừng bừng phẫn nộ, đặt lên dây cung một mũi tên ghê gớm—mạnh như Thần Chết vào buổi tận cùng thời kiếp.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in a dharma-framed war, inner emotions like anger can surge, yet the warrior’s action remains channeled through trained discipline (preparing the arrow). It also invokes Kāla/Mṛtyu imagery to remind that battle is governed by mortality and the inexorable force of time.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Sahadeva, enraged, readies a dreadful arrow—described as deathlike in power—indicating an imminent, decisive strike in the ongoing combat of the Karṇa Parva.