Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
ते दृष्टवा धर्मराजानं कौरवेयैस्तथा कृतम् । नामृष्यन्त सुसंरब्धा: शिखण्डिप्रमुखा रथा:
te dṛṣṭvā dharmarājānaṃ kauraveyais tathā kṛtam | nāmṛṣyanta susaṃrabdhāḥ śikhaṇḍipramukhā rathāḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als sie sahen, wie Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira—der Wahrer des Dharma—von den Söhnen der Kuru in eine solche Bedrängnis gebracht wurde, konnten die von Śikhaṇḍin angeführten Wagenkämpfer, von wilder Wut entflammt, es nicht ertragen.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights moral outrage in the face of injustice: when the righteous are wronged, allies who value dharma feel compelled to respond. It frames anger not as mere passion but as a reaction to adharma, urging protection of the virtuous and resistance to wrongdoing.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava-side chariot-warriors, led by Śikhaṇḍin, see Yudhiṣṭhira reduced to a humiliating or grievous condition by the Kauravas. Enraged, they cannot tolerate it and are stirred toward action.