तस्यास्यतो धनुर् भीमश् चकर्त निशितैस् त्रिभिः ॥
रथनीडाच् च यन्तारं भल्लेनापातयत् क्षितौ ॥
स काङ्क्षन् भीमसेनस्य वधं वैकर्तनो वृषः ॥
शक्तिं कनकवैडूर्यचित्रदण्डां परामृशत् ॥
प्रगृह्य च महाशक्तिं कालशक्तिम् इवापराम् ॥
समुत्क्षिप्य च राधेयः संधाय च महाबलः ॥
चिक्षेप भीमसेनाय जीवितान्तकरीम् इव ॥
शक्तिं विसृज्य राधेयः पुरंदर इवाशनिम् ॥
ननाद सुमहानादं बलवान् सूतनन्दनः ॥
तं च नादं ततः श्रुत्वा पुत्रास् ते हृषिताभवन् ॥
tasyāsyato dhanur bhīmaś cakarta niśitais tribhiḥ ||
rathanīḍāc ca yantāraṃ bhallenāpātayat kṣitau ||
sa kāṅkṣan bhīmasenasya vadhaṃ vaikartano vṛṣaḥ ||
śaktiṃ kanakavaiḍūryacitradaṇḍāṃ parāmṛśat ||
pragṛhya ca mahāśaktiṃ kālaśaktim ivāparām ||
samutkṣipya ca rādheyaḥ saṃdhāya ca mahābalaḥ ||
cikṣepa bhīmasenāya jīvitāntakarīm iva ||
śaktiṃ visṛjya rādheyaḥ puraṃdara ivāśanim ||
nanāda sumahānādaṃ balavān sūtanandanaḥ ||
taṃ ca nādaṃ tataḥ śrutvā putrās te hṛṣitābhavan ||
"His bow, as he shot arrows, Bhima severed with three sharp shafts, and with a bhalla-arrow he cast the driver down from the chariot's rail to the earth. He, the bull Vaikartana, desiring Bhimasena's death, seized a spear whose shaft was wondrous with gold and beryl. And, taking up the great spear as if it were a second spear of Time itself, lifting it, taking aim, the mighty Radheya hurled the spear — like Purandara hurling his thunderbolt — and gave forth a tremendous roar, the mighty son of the charioteer."
43cfee466010 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:34 PM UTC
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Karna's spear is likened to "the very spear of Time": a hero's weapon seems to carry doom itself, and the roar triumphantly anticipates the blow. It is significant that Bhima had already stripped his foe of driver and bow beforehand: whoever diminishes an opponent's strength in advance meets the fearsome throw already half-disarmed. The verse teaches that even the mightiest swing does not decide the outcome beforehand: it still has to land, and it is met by a hand no less steady.