Shloka 35
अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel
गाढविद्धानरीन् कृत्वा मार्गणै: सोडतितेजनै:
gāḍha-viddhān arīn kṛtvā mārgaṇaiḥ soḍati-tejanaiḥ
Sañjaya said: With arrows of unendurable, blazing force, he struck the foes so deeply that they were left grievously pierced—an image of the war’s ruthless momentum, where prowess is measured by the capacity to wound and overwhelm rather than by restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line underscores the grim ethic of battlefield dharma in the epic: in the heat of war, martial excellence is portrayed through decisive, overpowering action. It also implicitly invites reflection on the cost of such excellence—victory is achieved through suffering inflicted.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior (contextually, the combatant being described in the surrounding verses) shoots powerful arrows that pierce the opposing fighters deeply, leaving them severely wounded and overwhelmed.