Shloka 33
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
एतान् पश्य च पज्चालान द्राव्यमाणान् महारथान् | शक्रेणेव यथा दैत्यान् हन्यमानान् महाहवे
etān paśya ca pañcālān drāvyamāṇān mahārathān | śakreṇeva yathā daityān hanyamānān mahāhave ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Sieh diese großen Wagenkämpfer der Pañcālas: im gewaltigen Kampf von Karṇa zurückgetrieben und niedergestreckt, wie einst Śakra (Indra), der Herr der Götter, die Dāityas verfolgte und erschlug. Sieh, wie Karṇas Ansturm sie auseinanderjagt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war magnifies power and terror through vivid comparison: the strong can rout the strong, and even renowned heroes may be reduced to flight. Ethically, it hints at the tragic cost of kṣatriya warfare—valor expressed as destruction—without celebrating cruelty, using the Indra–Dāitya simile to convey overwhelming force.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene where the Pañcāla mahārathas are being driven back and cut down in the great fight, likening their plight to the Dāityas being slain by Indra. In the Karṇa Parva context, this rout is attributed to Karṇa’s fierce assault.