Shloka 10
(ततः कुरूणामथ सोमकानां शब्दो महान् प्रादुरभूत् समन्तात् | यदार्जुनं सूतपुत्रो5पराह्ने महाहवे शैलमिवाम्बुदो<र्छत् ।। तदैव चासीद् रथयो: समागमो महारणे शोणितमांसकर्दमे ।।) जब महासमरमें अपराह्नके समय पर्वतपर जानेवाले मेघके समान सूतपुत्र कर्णने अर्जुनपर आक्रमण किया, उस समय कौरवों और सोमकोंका महान् कोलाहल सब ओर प्रकट होने लगा। उसी समय उन दोनों रथोंका संघर्ष आरम्भ हुआ। उस महायुद्धमें रक्त और मांसकी कीच जम गयी थी। उदक्रोशन् सोमकास्तत्र पार्थ पुर:सराशक्षार्जुन भिन्धि कर्णम् । छिन्ध्यस्य मूर्धानमलं चिरेण श्रद्धां च राज्याद् धृतराष्ट्रसूनो:,उस समय सोमकोंने आगे बढ़कर वहाँ कुन्तीकुमारसे पुकार-पुकारकर कहा--'अर्जुन! तुम कर्णको मार डालो। अब देर करनेकी आवश्यकता नहीं है। कर्णके मस्तक और दुर्योधनकी राज्य-प्राप्तिकी आशा दोनोंको एक साथ ही काट डालो”
sañjaya uvāca |
tataḥ kurūṇām atha somakānāṃ śabdo mahān prādurabhūt samantāt |
yadārjunaṃ sūtaputro 'parāhṇe mahāhave śailam ivāmbudo 'rcchat ||
tadaiva cāsīd rathayoḥ samāgamo mahāraṇe śoṇitamāṃsakardame ||
udakrośan somakās tatra pārtha puraḥsarāḥ kṣipraṃ arjuna bhindhi karṇam |
chindhy asya mūrdhānam alaṃ cireṇa śraddhāṃ ca rājyād dhṛtarāṣṭrasūnoḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, on every side, a great roar arose among the Kurus and the Somakas, when the charioteer’s son Karṇa, in the late afternoon of that mighty battle, rushed upon Arjuna like a rain-cloud surging toward a mountain. At that very moment the clash of the two chariots began in the great fight, in a field turned to mire with blood and flesh. There the Somakas, pressing forward, cried out to Pārtha again and again: “Arjuna, strike down Karṇa at once. Enough of delay—sever his head, and cut off, together with it, the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s hope of gaining the kingdom.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the war-ethic of decisive action in a dharma-conflict: allies urge Arjuna to end the threat posed by Karṇa and thereby extinguish Duryodhana’s political hope. It also underscores how political ambition (rājya-śraddhā) is tied to key champions on the battlefield, making personal duels carry collective moral and strategic weight.
In the late afternoon, Karṇa charges at Arjuna with overwhelming force, prompting a great roar from both armies. Their chariots meet and the duel begins amid a battlefield described as mire of blood and flesh. The Somakas shout to Arjuna to strike quickly—behead Karṇa and simultaneously cut off Duryodhana’s hope of winning the kingdom.