Shloka 44
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
नैव कर्णो न ते पञ्च ददृशुर्बाणसंवृता: । साश्व॒सूतध्वजरथा: परस्परशराचिता:,कर्ण तथा वे पाँचों राजकुमार एक-दूसरेके बरसाये हुए बाण-समूहोंसे व्याप्त एवं आच्छादित होकर घोड़े, सारथि, ध्वज तथा रथसहित अदृश्य हो गये थे
naiva karṇo na te pañca dadṛśur bāṇa-saṁvṛtāḥ | sāśva-sūta-dhvaja-rathāḥ paraspara-śarācitāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Neither Karṇa nor those five princes could be seen at all, for they were completely enveloped by showers of arrows. With their horses, charioteers, banners, and chariots, each side was hidden from view, covered over by the arrows hurled back and forth—an image of battle where prowess and fury eclipse even the very sight of the warriors.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked martial fury can become so overwhelming that it obscures clarity itself—symbolically, conflict can cover over discernment, reducing the battlefield to a storm of retaliation where even the combatants vanish behind the consequences of their own violence.
Sañjaya describes an intense exchange of arrows between Karṇa and five opposing princes: the arrow volleys are so dense that both sides—along with their horses, charioteers, banners, and chariots—become invisible, as if swallowed by a cloud of missiles.