Shloka 44
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
परिस्तोमै: कुथाभि श्न परिघैरड्कुशैस्तथा । शक्तिभिभिन्दिपालैश्न तृणै: शूलै: परश्वचै:
paristomaiḥ kuthābhiś ca parighair aṅkuśais tathā | śaktibhir bhindipālaiś ca tṛṇaiḥ śūlaiḥ paraśvadhaiḥ ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “They assailed him from every side with a bewildering variety of weapons—clubs and bludgeons, iron bars and goads, spears and bhindipālas, as well as tridents and battle-axes—showing how, in the frenzy of war, force multiplies and restraint is forgotten.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare breeds escalation: once dharma’s restraints weaken, combatants resort to every available means of harm. It implicitly contrasts disciplined kṣatriya conduct with the chaos that arises when anger and desperation dominate.
Kṛṣṇa describes an intense assault in which fighters strike with many kinds of weapons—clubs, axes, iron bars, goads, spears, darts, tridents, and battle-axes—emphasizing the ferocity and all-sided nature of the attack.