Shloka 51
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
कबन्धसंकुलं चक्रे तव सैन्यं महारथ: । अर्जुनो जयतां श्रेष्ठ: शरैरग्न्यंशुसंनिभै:,विजयी वीरोंमें श्रेष्ठ महारथी अर्जुनने अग्निकी ज्वालाके समान तेजस्वी बाणोंद्वारा आपकी सेनाको कबन्धोंसे भर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
kabandha-saṅkulaṃ cakre tava sainyaṃ mahārathaḥ |
arjuno jayatāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ śarair agny-aṃśu-sannibhaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The great chariot-warrior Arjuna—foremost among victors—filled your army with headless trunks, striking it with arrows blazing like tongues of fire.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh ethical reality of righteous warfare (kṣatriya-dharma): even when duty and victory are affirmed, the battlefield outcome is horrific, reminding the listener that triumph in war is inseparable from grave human loss.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, as an elite warrior, is cutting down the Kaurava forces with fire-bright arrows, leaving the field strewn with headless bodies—an image of Arjuna’s overwhelming martial dominance at this moment.