ततः कर्णः शरैस् तीक्ष्णैर् अभिमन्युं दुरासदम् ॥
अभ्यवर्षत संक्रुद्धः पुत्रस्य हितकृत् तव ॥
तस्य चानुचरांस् तीक्ष्णैर् विव्याध परमेषुभिः ॥
अवज्ञापूर्वकं वीरः सौभद्रस्य रणाजिरे ॥
अभिमन्युस् तु राधेयं त्रिसप्तत्या शिलीमुखैः ॥
अविध्यत् त्वरितो राजन् द्रोणं प्रेप्सुर् महामनाः ॥
tataḥ karṇaḥ śarais tīkṣṇair abhimanyuṃ durāsadam ||
abhyavarṣata saṃkruddhaḥ putrasya hitakṛt tava ||
tasya cānucarāṃs tīkṣṇair vivyādha parameṣubhiḥ ||
avajñāpūrvakaṃ vīraḥ saubhadrasya raṇājire ||
abhimanyus tu rādheyaṃ trisaptatyā śilīmukhaiḥ ||
avidhyat tvarito rājan droṇaṃ prepsur mahāmanāḥ ||
Then Karna, enraged, caring for the welfare of your son, showered the unassailable Abhimanyu with sharp arrows. And that warrior disdainfully wounded Abhimanyu's companions with sharp, excellent arrows on the battlefield of the son of Subhadra. Abhimanyu, noble, swiftly wounded Radheya with seventy-three arrows, O king, eager to reach Drona.
a3f17e8f3982 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Even while engaged with Karna, Abhimanyu "is eager to reach Drona" — he is not diverted from his main goal, he does not lose sight of it amid the thick of battle. Here the concentration of a master shows itself: countless obstacles do not turn him from his appointed course. It is telling that the boy alone unleashes seventy-three arrows upon the formidable Karna. The verse teaches that true valor is single-minded — it does not squander itself on incidental skirmishes but holds fast to its main purpose through every obstacle; that distracting blows must not knock one off the path toward a greater goal; and that Abhimanyu, fighting with Karna yet remembering Drona, displays that firmness of purpose without which even the greatest strength scatters itself in trifles, never reaching its aim.