Shloka 293
अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel
यादृक् क्षयमनीकानामकरोत् सात्यकिर्नूप । राजन! नरेश्वर! सात्यकिने आपके सैनिकोंका जैसा संहार किया था, वैसा वहाँ अर्जुनने भी नहीं किया था
yādṛk kṣayam anīkānām akarot sātyakir nṛpa | rājan nareśvara sātyakinā te sainikānāṁ yathā saṁhāraḥ kṛtaḥ tathā tatra arjunena api na kṛtaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O king, O lord of men, the destruction that Sātyaki wrought among the battle-formations was such that even Arjuna did not accomplish the like there. The slaughter Sātyaki inflicted upon your troops surpassed what was otherwise thought possible, even by the foremost archer.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, extraordinary prowess can arise even beyond the most celebrated heroes; it also implicitly underscores the grave ethical cost of mass destruction, reminding the listener (the king) that the consequences of the conflict are overwhelming and not easily contained by reputation or expectation.
Sañjaya reports to the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Sātyaki has inflicted a devastating rout upon the king’s troops, so severe that even Arjuna—normally the benchmark of battlefield excellence—did not produce an equivalent level of destruction in that situation.