इत्य् उक्त्वा रोषताम्राक्षं रक्षः क्रूरपराक्रमम् ॥
उत्पपातान्तरिक्षं च जहास च सुविस्वरम् ॥
कर्णम् अभ्याहनच् चैव गजेन्द्रम् इव केसरी ॥
रथाक्षमात्रैर् इषुभिर् अभ्यवर्षद् घटोत्कचः ॥
रथिनाम् ऋषभं कर्णं धाराभिर् इव तोयदः ॥
शरवृष्टिं च तां कर्णो दूरप्राप्ताम् अशातयत् ॥
दृष्ट्वा च विहतां मायां कर्णेन भरतर्षभ ॥
घटोत्कचस् ततो मायां ससर्जान्तर्हितः पुनः ॥
सो ऽभवद् गिरिर् इत्य् उच्चः शिखरैस् तरुसंकटैः ॥
शूलप्रासासिमुसलजलप्रस्रवणो महान् ॥
ity uktvā roṣatāmrākṣaṃ rakṣaḥ krūraparākramam ||
utpapātāntarikṣaṃ ca jahāsa ca suvisvaram ||
karṇam abhyāhanac caiva gajendram iva kesarī ||
rathākṣamātrair iṣubhir abhyavarṣad ghaṭotkacaḥ ||
rathinām ṛṣabhaṃ karṇaṃ dhārābhir iva toyadaḥ ||
śaravṛṣṭiṃ ca tāṃ karṇo dūraprāptām aśātayat ||
dṛṣṭvā ca vihatāṃ māyāṃ karṇena bharatarṣabha ||
ghaṭotkacas tato māyāṃ sasarjāntarhitaḥ punaḥ ||
so 'bhavad girir ity uccaḥ śikharais tarusaṃkaṭaiḥ ||
śūlaprāsāsimusalajalaprasravaṇo mahān ||
"Stand now! From me alive you shall not go, son of the suta; your ardor for battle I will root out on the field this day." So saying, with eyes reddened by fury, the rakshasa of fierce prowess soared into the sky and laughed loudly, and struck Karna as a lion strikes a lordly elephant. With arrows as thick as a chariot axle Ghatotkacha showered him; and that shower of arrows Karna dispersed while still distant. And seeing his sorcery destroyed by Karna, O bull among the Bharatas...
043c7763ee39 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Ghatotkacha again threatens the enemy with imminent death — and again fate will turn the threat back upon himself. It is telling that Karna disperses the shower of arrows "while still distant": the master meets trouble at its farthest approach. The verse teaches both the vanity of boasting and the wisdom of forestalling: he who threatens another's death tempts his own, while the skilled one turns aside the blow before it arrives; and calm anticipation is more sure than a furious defense at the last instant.