Shloka 3
तत्पश्चात् भयंकर पराक्रमी रथी, हाथीसवार, घुड़सवार और पैदल सैनिक शरीर, प्राण और पापोंका विनाश करनेवाले घोर प्रहार बड़े जोर-जोरसे करने लगे ।। पूर्णचन्द्रार्कपद्मानां कान्तिभिर्गन्धत: समै: । उत्तमाज्जै्नसिंहानां नृसिंहास्तस्तरुर्महीम्,कर्णोडपि राजन् समरे व्यहनत् पाण्डवीं चमूम् । नाराचैरर्करश्म्या भै: कर्मारपरिमार्जिति: महाराज! कर्णके नाराच कारीगरोंद्वारा धोकर साफ किये गये थे, इसलिये सूर्यकी किरणोंके समान चमक रहे थे। उनके द्वारा वह भी रणभूमिमें पाण्डव-सेनाका वध करने लगा
sañjaya uvāca | tatpaścāt bhayaṅkara-parākramī rathī hastisvāra aśvasvāra ca padātayaḥ śarīra-prāṇa-pāpānāṃ vināśakān ghorān prahārān balavad balavad abhyahanan | pūrṇacandrārka-padmanāṃ kāntibhir gandhataḥ samaiḥ uttamājñaiḥ siṃhānāṃ nṛsiṃhās tastaruḥ mahīm | karṇo 'pi rājan samare vyahanat pāṇḍavīṃ camūm | nārācair arka-raśmi-prabhaiḥ karmāra-parimārjitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Thereafter, warriors of dreadful prowess—chariot-fighters, elephant-riders, horsemen, and foot-soldiers—began to strike with fierce blows, as if intent on destroying bodies, lives, and the sins that cling to men in war. With splendour like the full moon, the sun, and the lotus, and with a presence likened to noble lions among men, they churned the earth with their onset. O King, Karṇa too, in that battle, struck down the Pāṇḍava host, showering it with arrows that shone like sunbeams—shafts burnished and polished by smiths—turning the field into a scene of relentless slaughter and grim consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim moral atmosphere of war: martial brilliance and technical excellence (polished, radiant weapons; heroic comparisons) coexist with destruction of life and the burden of pāpa. It implicitly warns that even celebrated prowess operates within a field of ethical consequence.
Sañjaya describes the battle intensifying: multiple arms of the army strike fiercely, and Karṇa in particular begins cutting down the Pāṇḍava forces with brilliantly polished nārāca arrows, likened to sunbeams.