संजय उवाच
ततः कर्णो महाराज भीमं विद्ध्वा त्रिभिः शरैः ॥
मुमोच शरवर्षाणि चित्राणि च बहूनि च ॥
वध्यमानो महाराज सूतपुत्रेण पाण्डवः ॥
न विव्यथे भीमसेनो भिद्यमान इवाचलः ॥
स कर्णं कर्णिना कर्णे पीतेन निशितेन च ॥
विव्याध युधि राजेन्द्र भीमसेनः पतत्रिणा ॥
स कुण्डलं महत् कर्णात् कर्णस्यापातयद् भुवि ॥
तपनीयं महाराज दीप्तं ज्योतिर् इवाम्बरात् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tataḥ karṇo mahārāja bhīmaṃ viddhvā tribhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
mumoca śaravarṣāṇi citrāṇi ca bahūni ca ||
vadhyamāno mahārāja sūtaputreṇa pāṇḍavaḥ ||
na vivyathe bhīmaseno bhidyamāna ivācalaḥ ||
sa karṇaṃ karṇinā karṇe pītena niśitena ca ||
vivyādha yudhi rājendra bhīmasenaḥ patatriṇā ||
sa kuṇḍalaṃ mahat karṇāt karṇasyāpātayad bhuvi ||
tapanīyaṃ mahārāja dīptaṃ jyotir ivāmbarāt ||
Then Karna, O great king, having pierced Bhima with three arrows, poured forth showers of arrows, wondrous and many. Struck by the son of the suta, the Pandava Bhimasena did not waver, like a mountain being split. He, Bhimasena, pierced Karna's ear with a feathered karni-arrow, yellowish and sharp, in battle, O lord of kings. He knocked down to the ground the great golden earring from Karna's ear, like a bright luminary fallen from the sky.
7a3fd0a3b59f · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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Bhima stands unmoved under the downpour, like a mountain being split yet not crumbling: firmness is measured not by the absence of blows but by unshaken endurance under them. It is telling that Karna's golden earring falls like a star from the heavens — the splendor of his greatness scatters before our eyes. The verse teaches that steadfastness is not invulnerability but unwavering resolve; and any earthly brilliance, however fiercely it burns, can fall like a luminary torn from the sky.