Shloka 95
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
द्रौर्णि कृपं कर्णशल्यौ वृषसेनं सुयोधनम् । छादयामास तीव्रेण शरजालेन पाण्डव:,पाण्डुकुमार अर्जुनने अपने तीखे बाणसमूहसे अश्व॒त्थामा, कृपाचार्य, कर्ण, शल्य, वृषसेन तथा दुर्योधनको आच्छादित कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | drauṇiṃ kṛpaṃ karṇaśalyau vṛṣasenaṃ suyodhanam | chādayāmāsa tīvreṇa śarajālena pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The Pāṇḍava hero (Arjuna), with a fierce net of arrows, blanketed Aśvatthāman, Kṛpācārya, Karṇa and Śalya together, as well as Vṛṣasena and Suyodhana (Duryodhana). The scene underscores the relentless momentum of battle, where prowess and resolve momentarily overwhelm even renowned warriors, while the moral weight of fratricidal war continues to loom over every act of martial excellence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary skill and determination can decisively shift a battlefield moment, yet it also implicitly points to the ethical tension of the Kurukṣetra war: even brilliant feats occur within a tragic conflict among kin, where victory and valor do not erase the burden of adharma-like suffering produced by war.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna unleashes an intense barrage—described as a ‘net of arrows’—that overwhelms and ‘covers’ several prominent Kaurava-side warriors at once: Aśvatthāman, Kṛpa, Karṇa, Śalya, Vṛṣasena, and Duryodhana.