Shloka 5
घटोत्कच-कर्णयुद्धम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Karna Combat and the Release of Śakti
पार्थेनैकेन निहता: सिंहेनेवेतरे मृगा: । “राधानन्दन! देखो, जैसे सिंह दूसरे वन्य पशुओंका संहार कर डालता है, उसी प्रकार एकमात्र कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनद्वारा मारे गये ये भूमण्डलके श्रेष्ठ भूपाल युद्धभूमिमें पड़े हैं ।। ४ ५ “| मम व्यायच्छमानस्थ द्रोणस्य च महात्मन:
pārthenekena nihatāḥ siṁhenevetare mṛgāḥ | rādhānandana! dekho, yathā siṁhaḥ anyān vanyapaśūn saṁharati, tathā ekamātreṇa kuntīkumarārjunena hatā ime bhūmaṇḍalasya śreṣṭhā bhūpālā yuddhabhūmau patitāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Slain by Partha (Arjuna) alone, they lie like other beasts felled by a lion. O son of Radha (Karna), behold: just as a lion destroys the other wild animals, so too these foremost kings of the earth, struck down by the single Kunti’s son Arjuna, are strewn upon the battlefield.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming force of a single righteous warrior in battle and, ethically, the stark cost of war: even the 'foremost kings' become as vulnerable as prey when adharma-driven conflict reaches its climax. The lion-simile magnifies Arjuna’s prowess while implicitly lamenting the devastation of kṣatriya society.
Sanjaya reports to Karna that Arjuna alone has cut down many eminent rulers; their bodies lie scattered on the battlefield. Addressing Karna as 'Rādhānandana,' he urges him to witness Arjuna’s lion-like slaughter of opposing warriors.