कर्णस् तु पाण्डवे शक्तिं काञ्चनीं समवासृजत् ॥
ततस् ताम् एव जग्राह प्रहसन् पाण्डुनन्दनः ॥
कर्णायैव च दुर्धर्षश् चिक्षेपाजौ वृकोदरः ॥
ताम् अन्तरिक्षे चिच्छेद शकुनिस् तैलपायिना ॥
ततस् तव सुता राजन् भीमस्य रथम् आव्रजन् ॥
महता शरवर्षेण छादयन्तो वृकोदरम् ॥
दुर्मदस्य ततो भीमः प्रहसन्न् इव संयुगे ॥
सारथिं च हयांश् चैव शरैर् निन्ये यमक्षयम् ॥
दुर्मदस् तु ततो यानं दुष्कर्णस्यावपुप्लुवे ॥
karṇas tu pāṇḍave śaktiṃ kāñcanīṃ samavāsṛjat ||
tatas tām eva jagrāha prahasan pāṇḍunandanaḥ ||
karṇāyaiva ca durdharṣaś cikṣepājau vṛkodaraḥ ||
tām antarikṣe ciccheda śakunis tailapāyinā ||
tatas tava sutā rājan bhīmasya ratham āvrajan ||
mahatā śaravarṣeṇa chādayanto vṛkodaram ||
durmadasya tato bhīmaḥ prahasann iva saṃyuge ||
sārathiṃ ca hayāṃś caiva śarair ninye yamakṣayam ||
durmadas tu tato yānaṃ duṣkarṇasyāvapupluve ||
Karna then hurled a golden spear at the Pandava; then Bhima seized it, laughing, the son of Pandu, and hurled it in battle at Karna himself, the unassailable Vrikodara; his spear Shakuni cut in midair with an oiled arrow. Then your sons, o king, advanced upon Bhima's chariot, covering Vrikodara with a great rain of arrows. Then Bhima, as if laughing, in the fray sent Durmada's charioteer and horses to the abode of Yama with arrows.
42e31e835e44 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Bhima catches Karna's spear and, laughing, hurls it back at him: the height of daring is to turn the enemy's own weapon against him. It is telling that Shakuni, the master of cunning, saves Karna by cutting the spear in midair. The verse teaches that in a fight to the death even presence of mind is a weapon; and one who laughingly turns back a foe's blow surpasses him not only in strength but in unshaken composure.