Shloka 21
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
ततः प्रववृते युद्ध कर्णस्य सह पाण्डवै:
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ karṇasya saha pāṇḍavaiḥ
Sañjaya said: Thereupon the battle commenced—Karna engaging the Pāṇḍavas—signaling a decisive turn in the war where personal prowess and long-held vows collide with the larger demands of duty and fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s ethical tension: war is not merely violence but a field where kṣatriya-duty, personal vows, and destiny converge. The narrative framing reminds the listener that individual clashes (Karna vs. the Pāṇḍavas) carry wider moral and historical consequences.
Sañjaya reports that the fighting now turns into a direct engagement between Karna and the Pāṇḍavas—an escalation toward a pivotal confrontation within the Drona Parva’s war sequence.