गदां विनिहतां दृष्ट्वा सहदेवस् त्वरान्वितः ॥
शक्तिं चिक्षेप कर्णाय ताम् अप्य् अस्याच्छिनच् छरैः ॥
ससंभ्रमस् ततस् तूर्णम् अवप्लुत्य रथोत्तमात् ॥
सहदेवो महाराज दृष्ट्वा कर्णं व्यवस्थितम् ॥
रथचक्रं ततो गृह्य मुमोचाधिरथिं प्रति ॥
तम् आपतन्तं सहसा कालचक्रम् इवोद्यतम् ॥
शरैर् अनेकसाहस्रैर् अच्छिनत् सूतनन्दनः ॥
तस्मिंस् तु वितथे चक्रे कृते तेन महात्मना ॥
वार्यमाणश् च विशिखैः सहदेवो रणं जहौ ॥
gadāṃ vinihatāṃ dṛṣṭvā sahadevas tvarānvitaḥ ||
śaktiṃ cikṣepa karṇāya tām apy asyācchinac charaiḥ ||
sasaṃbhramas tatas tūrṇam avaplutya rathottamāt ||
sahadevo mahārāja dṛṣṭvā karṇaṃ vyavasthitam ||
rathacakraṃ tato gṛhya mumocādhirathiṃ prati ||
tam āpatantaṃ sahasā kālacakram ivodyatam ||
śarair anekasāhasrair acchinat sūtanandanaḥ ||
tasmiṃs tu vitathe cakre kṛte tena mahātmanā ||
vāryamāṇaś ca viśikhaiḥ sahadevo raṇaṃ jahau ||
Seeing the mace struck down, Sahadeva, in haste, hurled a dart at Karna; and that too he cut with arrows. In confusion then, swiftly leaping down from his finest chariot, Sahadeva, O great king, seeing Karna standing firm, then seized a chariot wheel and hurled it at the son of Adhiratha. It, suddenly rushing, as though the upraised wheel of Time, the son of the suta cut with many thousands of arrows. When that wheel had been rendered vain, made so by that great soul...
a0c8bfc7ece6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Sahadeva comes to his last resort -- he hurls the wheel of his own chariot, "as though the upraised wheel of Time." It is telling that even this proves powerless: everything shatters against Karna's unshaken skill. The verse teaches that despair drives one to extreme, almost hopeless measures; and when all else is spent, a person reaches for whatever remains. Yet courage lies even in this doomed throw: better to fall having tried the last thing than to yield without exhausting one's strength.