संजय उवाच
आयान्तं पाण्डवं दृष्ट्वा गजः प्रतिगजं यथा ॥
असंभ्रान्ततरः कर्णः पर्त्युदीयाद् धनंजयम् ॥
तम् आपतन्तं वेगेन वैकर्तनम् अजिह्मगैः ॥
वारयाम् आस तेजस्वी पाण्डवः शत्रुतापनः ॥
तं कर्णः शरजालेन छादयाम् आस मारिष ॥
विव्याध च सुसंक्रुद्धः शरैस् त्रिभिर् अजिह्मगैः ॥
तस्य तल् लाघवं पार्थो नामृष्यत महाबलः ॥
तस्मै बाणाञ् शिलाधौतान् प्रसन्नाग्रान् अजिह्मगान् ॥
प्राहिणोत् सूतपुत्राय त्रिंशतं शत्रुतापनः ॥
विव्याध चैनं संरब्धो बाणेनैकेन वीर्यवान् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
āyāntaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ dṛṣṭvā gajaḥ pratigajaṃ yathā ||
asaṃbhrāntataraḥ karṇaḥ partyudīyād dhanaṃjayam ||
tam āpatantaṃ vegena vaikartanam ajihmagaiḥ ||
vārayām āsa tejasvī pāṇḍavaḥ śatrutāpanaḥ ||
taṃ karṇaḥ śarajālena chādayām āsa māriṣa ||
vivyādha ca susaṃkruddhaḥ śarais tribhir ajihmagaiḥ ||
tasya tal lāghavaṃ pārtho nāmṛṣyata mahābalaḥ ||
tasmai bāṇāñ śilādhautān prasannāgrān ajihmagān ||
prāhiṇot sūtaputrāya triṃśataṃ śatrutāpanaḥ ||
vivyādha cainaṃ saṃrabdho bāṇenaikena vīryavān ||
Seeing the advancing Pandava, like an elephant meeting a rival elephant, Karna, most unperturbed, went forth to meet Dhananjaya. As Vaikartana swiftly swooped down upon him, the resplendent Pandava, scorcher of foes, held him back with straight-flying arrows. Karna blanketed him with a net of arrows, O honored one, and, enraged, pierced him with three straight-flying arrows. That dexterity of his the Partha, exceedingly strong, could not bear; and he shot at him arrows whetted on stone, with bright tips, flying straight.
9ffecb1b4af8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Karna and Arjuna meet like two rival elephants: the long-awaited encounter of equals. The word "asaṃbhrāntataraḥ" — Karna most unperturbed — is telling: he had long craved this battle. The verse teaches that a meeting of rivals, for which both have prepared, reveals them fully; and composure before a long-sought adversary is a sign not of arrogance but of mature readiness for the decisive trial.