Shloka 3
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
पश्य कृष्ण महाबाहो द्रवन्तीं पाण्डवीं चमूम् । कर्ण पश्य च संग्रामे कालयन्तं महारथान्
sañjaya uvāca | paśya kṛṣṇa mahābāho dravantīṃ pāṇḍavīṃ camūm | karṇa paśya ca saṃgrāme kālayantaṃ mahārathān |
Sañjaya sprach: „O Kṛṣṇa, du Mächtigarmiger, sieh: Das Heer der Pāṇḍavas flieht in wilder Unordnung. Und sieh dort Karṇa im Getümmel der Schlacht, wie er selbst große Wagenkämpfer dem Tod zusendet, als liefere er sie den Rachen der Zeit aus.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring vision of war as governed not only by human prowess but also by Kāla (Time/Death): even the greatest warriors can be swept away. It invites reflection on the ethical gravity of battle—victory and valor are inseparable from mortality and consequence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍava forces are retreating, while Karṇa is dominating the fight, cutting down prominent mahārathas. The scene heightens Karṇa’s battlefield ascendancy and the crisis faced by the Pāṇḍava side in this phase of the war.