संजय उवाच
कर्णभीमौ महाराज पराक्रान्तौ महाहवे ॥
बाणवर्षाण्य् अवर्षेतां वृष्टिमन्ताव् इवाम्बुदौ ॥
भीमनामाङ्किता बाणाः स्वर्णपुङ्खाः शिलाशिताः ॥
विविशुः कर्णम् आसाद्य भिन्दन्त इव जीवितम् ॥
तथैव कर्णनिर्मुक्तैः सविषैर् इव पन्नगैः ॥
आकीर्यत रणे भीमः शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
karṇabhīmau mahārāja parākrāntau mahāhave ||
bāṇavarṣāṇy avarṣetāṃ vṛṣṭimantāv ivāmbudau ||
bhīmanāmāṅkitā bāṇāḥ svarṇapuṅkhāḥ śilāśitāḥ ||
viviśuḥ karṇam āsādya bhindanta iva jīvitam ||
tathaiva karṇanirmuktaiḥ saviṣair iva pannagaiḥ ||
ākīryata raṇe bhīmaḥ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
Karna and Bhima, O great king, fierce in the great battle, poured forth showers of arrows like two rain-laden clouds. Arrows marked with Bhima's name, golden-shafted, whetted on stone, pierced into Karna as if cleaving his very life. Likewise, struck by hundreds and thousands of arrows loosed by Karna, as if by venomous serpents, Bhima was covered all over in the battle.
ea9a38796b28 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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Bhima's arrows bear his own name -- the blow is named, aimed at one man alone: the enmity here is not impersonal but seeks a personal reckoning. It is telling that the arrows of both are alike likened to venomous serpents: deadliness does not distinguish the righteous from the guilty among the flying fangs. The verse teaches that in a clash of equals every blow is mutual, and personal enmity, however justified, pours down the same rain of death on both sides alike.