Shloka 43
कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat
हन्यमानमपशथ्यंश्न निश्चेष्टं सम पराक्रमे | अयुतं तत्र योधानां हत्वा पाण्डुसुतो रणे
hanyamānam apaśyann niśceṣṭaṃ sama-parākrame | ayutaṃ tatra yodhānāṃ hatvā pāṇḍu-suto raṇe ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als er sah, wie jener niedergeschlagen wurde—reglos, obgleich an Tapferkeit ebenbürtig—erschlug der Sohn Pāṇḍus in jener Schlacht dort volle zehntausend Krieger.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral gravity of battlefield success: when a powerful opponent is incapacitated, the balance of war collapses and large-scale killing can follow. It invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma—duty in war—while also exposing the tragic cost and ethical burden of victory measured in bodies.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍu-born hero, seeing an equal-in-valor fighter rendered motionless while being struck, went on to kill ten thousand warriors in that battle. It is a compressed battlefield report emphasizing a sudden surge of destruction.