Shloka 20
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
जैसे संग्रामभूमिमें अर्जुनके रथकी बागडोर सँभालनेवाले श्रेष्ठ सारथि श्रीकृष्ण हैं, उसी प्रकार आप भी कर्णके रथपर बैठकर उसकी बागडोर अपने हाथमें लीजिये ।।
sañjaya uvāca | yathā saṅgrāmabhūmau arjunasya rathasya bāgḍoraṃ sambhālayituṃ śreṣṭhaḥ sārathiḥ śrīkṛṣṇaḥ, tathā tvam api karṇasya rathopaviṣṭaḥ tasya bāgḍoraṃ svahastena gṛhāṇa || tena yukto raṇe pārtho rakṣyamāṇaś ca pārthiva | yāni karmāṇi kurute pratyakṣāṇi tathaiva tat || rājann, śrīkṛṣṇena saṃyuktaḥ surakṣitaś ca pārthaḥ raṇabhūmau yāni yāni karmāṇi karoti, tāni sarvāṇi tava cakṣuṣoḥ pratyakṣāṇi ||
Sañjaya sprach: „So wie auf dem Schlachtfeld der erhabenste Wagenlenker, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, die Zügel von Arjunas Wagen hält und führt, so sollst auch du auf Karṇas Wagen steigen und die Zügel mit eigener Hand ergreifen. Denn wenn Pārtha (Arjuna) mit Kṛṣṇa verbunden und von ihm im Kampf beschirmt ist, werden alle Taten, die er auf dem Feld vollbringt, offen vor deinen eigenen Augen vollendet, o König.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effective action in crisis depends on right guidance and protection: Arjuna’s visible successes are attributed to being ‘yukta’ with Kṛṣṇa—symbolizing superior counsel, steadiness, and safeguarding. The verse implicitly contrasts mere valor with guided, disciplined agency.
Sanjaya advises King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, just as Kṛṣṇa expertly drives Arjuna’s chariot, the king should similarly take charge of Karṇa’s chariot by holding the reins—an image urging direct oversight and strategic control. He adds that Arjuna’s battlefield deeds, empowered by Kṛṣṇa’s support, are plainly evident to the king through Sanjaya’s report.