Shloka 46
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
शरैरविशकलीकुर्वन्नमित्रानभ्यवीवृषत् । स्वलंकृतानश्वसादीन् पत्ती क्षाहन् धनंजय:
sañjaya uvāca | śarair aviśakalīkurvann amitrān abhyavīvṛṣat | suvalaṅkṛtān aśvasādīn pattīṃś cāhan dhanañjayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Dhananjaya (Arjuna), raining arrows upon the foe, shattered the enemy ranks into fragments. He struck down the well-adorned horsemen and the foot-soldiers as well, while his shafts broke apart the splendidly decorated war-chariots—drawn by well-trained horses and borne by battle-maddened charioteers—so that they fell like pieces of a celestial city brought to ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of kṣatriya-duty in war: disciplined skill and resolve can become overwhelming force. Ethically, it points to the tension between martial excellence and the destructive consequences of battle undertaken as a perceived obligation.
Sanjaya describes Arjuna on the battlefield showering arrows, shattering enemy formations and breaking apart splendid chariots, while also cutting down decorated horsemen and foot-soldiers.