Shloka 12
तब वह सारे शरीरसे खूनकी धारा बहाता हुआ मेरे द्वारा पीड़ित हुए समस्त सैनिक शिरोमणियोंको खूनसे लथपथ देखकर सूतपुत्र कर्णकी रथसेनामें घुस गया ।। ततो$भिभूतं युधि वीक्ष्य सैन्यं वित्रस्तयोध॑ द्रतवाजिनागम् । पजञ्चाशता रथमुख्यै: समेत्य कर्णस्त्वरन् मामुपायात् प्रमाथी,तत्पश्चात् युद्धस्थलमें अपनी सेनाके योद्धाओंको भयसे आक्रान्त और हाथी-घोड़ोंको भागते देख पचास मुख्य-मुख्य रथियोंको साथ ले शत्रुओंको मथ डालनेवाला कर्ण बड़ी उतावलीके साथ मेरे पास आया
tato 'bhibhūtaṃ yudhi vīkṣya sainyaṃ vitrasta-yodhaṃ drutavājināgam | pañcāśatā ratha-mukhyaiḥ sametya karṇas tvaran mām upāyāt pramāthī ||
Then, seeing in the midst of battle his army overwhelmed—its warriors panic-stricken and its horses and elephants in flight—Karna, the charioteer’s son, the crusher of foes, swiftly came toward me, accompanied by fifty foremost chariot-warriors. The scene underscores how a commander responds when his side falters: Karna chooses urgent, forceful intervention to restore momentum, even as the battlefield is drenched in blood and fear.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When a collective is shaken by fear and disorder, leadership is tested: the verse highlights decisive action in crisis. Ethically, it reflects the kṣatriya ideal of meeting danger directly and attempting to stabilize one’s side, even amid the moral weight of mass violence.
Arjuna describes Karna observing his own forces being overwhelmed—fighters frightened, horses and elephants fleeing—and then rushing toward Arjuna, reinforced by fifty elite chariot-warriors, intending to break the enemy’s advance and reassert control.