ततो ऽन्तरिक्षम् उत्पत्य कालमेघ इवोन्नदन् ॥
प्रववर्ष महाकायो द्रुमवर्षं नभस्तलात् ॥
ततो मायाविनं कर्णो भीमसेनसुतं दिवि ॥
मार्गणैर् अभिविव्याध घनं सूर्य इवांशुभिः ॥
तस्य सर्वान् हयान् हत्वा संछिद्य शतधा रथम् ॥
अभ्यवर्षच् छरैः कर्णः पर्जन्य इव वृष्टिमान् ॥
न चास्यासीद् अनिर्भिन्नं गात्रे द्व्यङ्गुलम् अन्तरम् ॥
सो ऽदृश्यत मुहूर्तेन श्वाविच् छललितो यथा ॥
tato 'ntarikṣam utpatya kālamegha ivonnadan ||
pravavarṣa mahākāyo drumavarṣaṃ nabhastalāt ||
tato māyāvinaṃ karṇo bhīmasenasutaṃ divi ||
mārgaṇair abhivivyādha ghanaṃ sūrya ivāṃśubhiḥ ||
tasya sarvān hayān hatvā saṃchidya śatadhā ratham ||
abhyavarṣac charaiḥ karṇaḥ parjanya iva vṛṣṭimān ||
na cāsyāsīd anirbhinnaṃ gātre dvyaṅgulam antaram ||
so 'dṛśyata muhūrtena śvāvic chalalito yathā ||
Then, soaring into the sky, roaring like the cloud of doomsday, the huge-bodied one poured forth a downpour of trees from the vault of heaven. Then Karna pierced the sorcerer, the son of Bhimasena, in the sky with arrows, as the sun pierces a cloud with its rays. Having slain all his horses and shattered his chariot into a hundred pieces, Karna showered him with arrows, like a rain-laden cloud. And there was not left unpierced on him even the space of two fingers on his body; in a moment he was seen, like a porcupine bristling with quills.
a3b91f177fbb · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Ghatotkacha pours down a rain of trees from the sky, but Karna pierces him "as the sun pierces a cloud with its rays": light disperses the illusion of darkness. It is telling that even in the heavens the rakshasa found no refuge — Karna's skill reaches him there too. The verse teaches that true mastery leaves no shelter, neither in sorcery nor in the heights; one who has mastered his craft to the utmost strikes the enemy wherever he may rise, as the sun pierces the densest cloud with its rays.