Shloka 11
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
द्रौणेरपहतान् संख्ये ददृशु: स च तां तथा । प्रावर्तयन्महाघोरां नदीं परवहां तदा
drauṇer apahatān saṅkhye dadṛśuḥ sa ca tāṃ tathā | prāvartayan mahāghorāṃ nadīṃ paravahāṃ tadā ||
Sañjaya sprach: Sie sahen jene, die im Gedränge der Schlacht vom Sohn Droṇas niedergestreckt worden waren; und auch er, als er sie so erblickte, setzte damals einen höchst schrecklichen Strom in Bewegung — einen Strom, der den Feind fortriss. Die Szene zeigt, wie die Kriegskunst eines Kämpfers, von Zorn und Rache getrieben, das Schlachtfeld in eine unaufhaltsame Strömung der Vernichtung verwandeln kann, die Leben ohne Rast hinwegträgt.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral peril of unrestrained martial fury: when vengeance and rage dominate, a warrior’s action becomes like a terrifying flood that indiscriminately sweeps away lives. It invites reflection on how power in war must be governed by dharma, or it turns into a force of devastation.
Sañjaya reports that many fighters have been felled in battle by Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman). Seeing the carnage, he intensifies his assault, described metaphorically as unleashing a dreadful ‘river’ that carries away the enemy—an image for a surging, unstoppable onslaught.