Shloka 23
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 54 — Missile-Exchange and Tactical Redirection
Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa
स पाण्डवस्तूर्णमुदीर्णकोप: कृतागसं कर्णमुदीक्ष्य हर्षात् । क्षणेन साक्षं सरथं ससारथि- मन्तर्दधे घोरशरौघवृष्ट्या,अपने अपराधी कर्णको सामने देखकर पाण्डुनन्दन अर्जुनकी क्रोधाग्नि भड़क उठी। वे तुरंत ही हर्ष एवं उत्साहसे भर गये और भयंकर बाणोंकी वर्षा करके उन्होंने क्षणभरमें घोड़े, रथ और सारथिसहित कर्णको ढँक दिया
sa pāṇḍavas tūrṇam udīrṇakopaḥ kṛtāgasaṃ karṇam udīkṣya harṣāt | kṣaṇena sākṣaṃ sarathaṃ sasārathim antardadhe ghorśaraughavṛṣṭyā ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：阿周那——般度之子——见到犯下过错的迦尔纳就在眼前，怒焰顿时腾起；然而与这义愤并行的，还有战士的激昂。他立刻倾泻出可怖的箭雨，顷刻之间便将迦尔纳完全遮没——连同其马、其车与御者一并笼罩。此景表明：战场上的正义之怒常与武勇之热同起，而英雄的回应被视为对过失的惩报，而非单纯的私怨。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a warrior’s anger is portrayed as morally charged—directed at an offender (kṛtāgasaṃ)—and how martial action is framed as a swift, decisive response to wrongdoing. It also shows the coexistence of kopa (wrath) and harṣa (exhilarated zeal) in the kṣatriya ethos.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Arjuna, upon seeing Karṇa, becomes intensely angry and immediately releases a terrifying rain of arrows, so dense that Karṇa is covered from view along with his chariot and charioteer (and, by context, his horses as well).