स सात्यकेस् तु बलिनः कर्णस्य च महात्मनः ॥
आसीत् समागमो घोरो बलिवासवयोर् इव ॥
त्रासयंस् तलघोषेण क्षत्रियान् क्षत्रियर्षभः ॥
राजीवलोचनं कर्णं सात्यकिः प्रत्यविध्यत ॥
कम्पयन्न् इव घोषेण धनुषो वसुधां बली ॥
सूतपुत्रो महाराज सात्यकिं प्रत्ययोधयत् ॥
विपाठकर्णिनाराचैर् वत्सदन्तैः क्षुरैर् अपि ॥
कर्णः शरशतैश् चापि शैनेयं प्रत्यविध्यत ॥
sa sātyakes tu balinaḥ karṇasya ca mahātmanaḥ ||
āsīt samāgamo ghoro balivāsavayor iva ||
trāsayaṃs talaghoṣeṇa kṣatriyān kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ ||
rājīvalocanaṃ karṇaṃ sātyakiḥ pratyavidhyata ||
kampayann iva ghoṣeṇa dhanuṣo vasudhāṃ balī ||
sūtaputro mahārāja sātyakiṃ pratyayodhayat ||
vipāṭhakarṇinārācair vatsadantaiḥ kṣurair api ||
karṇaḥ śaraśataiś cāpi śaineyaṃ pratyavidhyata ||
That meeting of mighty Satyaki and great-spirited Karna was a terrible one, like that of Bali and Vasava [Indra]. Terrifying the kshatriyas with the twang of his bowstring, that bull among kshatriyas pierced the lotus-eyed Karna in return. As if shaking the earth with the roar of his bow, the mighty son of the suta, O great king, fought back against Satyaki. With vipathas, barbed iron arrows, calf-toothed shafts, and razor-arrows too, Karna pierced Shaineya in return with hundreds of arrows.
de6a9a7d7bf0 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Satyaki and Karna clash "like Bali and Indra" — two of the greatest, whose meeting shakes the earth with the roar of their bowstrings. It is telling that the battle is called not the victory of one but a terrible "meeting," a clash of equals. The verse teaches that there are contests in which no easy triumph is sought: the worthiest meet, and their very encounter is an event that shakes the world; and the greatness of a battle is measured not by its outcome but by the stature of those who meet in it.