Shloka 13
रात्रौ युद्धप्रवृत्तिः — Night Battle Begins; Duryodhana’s Protective Orders for Droṇa
Droṇa-parva 139
यथैव हि स कर्णेन पार्थ: प्रच्छादित: शरै: । तथैव स रणे कर्ण छादयामास पाण्डव:,जैसे कर्णने अपने बाणोंद्वारा भीमसेनको आच्छादित किया था, उसी प्रकार पाण्डुपुत्र भीमने भी कर्णको ढक दिया
yathaiva hi sa karṇena pārthaḥ pracchāditaḥ śaraiḥ | tathaiva sa raṇe karṇa chādayāmāsa pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Just as Karṇa had covered Pārtha with a dense shower of arrows, so too in that battle did the Pāṇḍava cover Karṇa in return.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the reciprocal nature of kṣatriya warfare: skill and aggression are met with equal counter-skill. Ethically, it reflects the battlefield code where valor is answered by valor, and neither side yields easily when honor and duty are at stake.
Sañjaya narrates that Karṇa had earlier overwhelmed Pārtha with a thick volley of arrows; now, in the same manner, the Pāṇḍava warrior overwhelms Karṇa with arrows in return, showing a rapid exchange of dominance in the fight.